Rights and responsabilities of information research in Italy

Up To infotechnologies (www.uptoit.org)

Mediterranean Notebook #3

Published in: Business Information Searcher, 2000;10(3):13-16

The scope of this column is to highlight information issues regarding Italy of broad European interest. Although one cannot pretend that Italy is a leader in the global information industry, we have observed many exciting initiatives and have seen the Italian market for information services gain momentum. With this column, we hope to promote these initiatives, further involve Italy in the global information industry, and stimulate a critical discussion about information resources in Italy. To this end, we will evaluate information products and services, and discuss trends in the Italian information industry.

The ability to access, use and distribute information is determined, in most nations, by three main ethical and legal issues: copyright, privacy and the right to be informed (Fig. 1). These three terms are not unfamiliar even to most lay persons without legal preparation. However, the nuances of these laws are frequently ignored by most citizens. During the past 10 years in Italy, legislation regarding each of these three issues has been reconsidered and revised, bringing them to front-page (and "home page") prominence.

In this article, I provide a brief introduction to Italian legislation on copyright, privacy and the right be informed. Not having a legal preparation, I do not pretend to give a legal analysis of such laws. Rather, I focus on the way these laws affect the activities of information research in Italy, and cite key associations and governmental agencies having interests in these topics.

Copyright

Broadly speaking, copyright (in Italian, diritti d'autore) refers to the protection of creative works from falsification and unauthorized reproduction. Copyright encourages creative activity because authors, artists and artisans are recognized and rewarded for their efforts. Creative works may include original writings, designs, music, video, software and even database content. Legislation on copyright prohibits unauthorized reproduction and establishes the limits of reproducing material for personal use. This is also the case in Italy: the first law protecting "author's rights" was made in 1941 (law n° 633/41) and has been successively modified.

The most recent emanation of new norms in the field of copyright is dated 18 August 2000 (law n. 248/00, New norms in the protection of authors' rights). The main scope of this newest law is to establish norms for protecting music, multimedia and software. Facing an actual "industry" of counterfeit production and reselling, Italian lawmakers imposed severe penalties for the unauthorized for-profit reproduction of electronic works.

For information researchers, the traditional aspects of copyright for printed works are still relevant. The law indicates that reproduction by photocopying or analogous method is consented for personal use (within the limits of 15% of the volume or magazine), provided that the authors and publishers of the copied work receive compensation. Rare works out of any publisher's catalog are excluded. Libraries and copy centers that provide photocopying machines are responsible for paying the copyright charge, collected from users' fees. The minimum fee per page is determined by the National Statistics Institute (ISTAT, www.istat.it). Copyright costs are collected and redistributed to authors and publishers by the Società Italiana degli Autori ed Editori (SIAE), although the SIAE may share this responsibility with other trade organizations.

Italian copyright clearance organizations

SIAE, the Società Italiana Autori ed Editori (www.siae.it), was established in 1882 in Milan and recognized officially by the copyright law of 1941. According to the association's Web presentation, SIAE has united authors, publishers and other copyright holders for over 100 years with the scope of defending their rights in Italy and abroad. Presently, SIAE represents 50 000 authors and artists. SIAE authorizes the use of creative works, collects copyright fees and distributes these fees to the copyright holders, while withholding 22% of the fees for overhead expenses. SIAE maintains a public film register, a public software register and a deposit for unpublished works. SIAE is a member of the Confédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Auteurs et Compositeurs (CISAC, www.cisac.org).

AIDROS, the Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle Opere a Stampa, was established in 1991 in Milan by the Associazione Italiana Editori. According to the association's statute, AIDROS aims to be a reference regarding (1) the limits, conditions and means for reproduction of print material, and (2) the correct attribution of such remuneration to the copyright holders. Membership in AIDROS is limited to publishers. AIDROS gives authorization to individual users for the right to reproduce, in exchange for a forfeit fee based on the amount of material reproduced. A portion of this fee is distributed to the copyright holder. AIDROS is a member of the International Federation for Reproduction Rights Organisations (IFRRO). According to the IFRRO membership directory (www.ifrro.org), AIDROS serves approximately 60 publishing houses of books and sheet music. In 1999, AIDROS collected almost EUR 15,000 and will begin distributing these funds to rights holders at the end of 2000.

Copyright and Italian databases

As part of my interest in Italian information sources, I have thus far catalogued 143 databases containing content primarily about Italy (www.uptoit.org/information/monitor.htm). Copyright statements on these databases vary, as expected considering the nature of their content. I did not find copyright statements on the public record databases produced by Infocamere, but instead found statements that all citizens have rights to access their information. Neither were copyright statements found on the free TARIC or ATECO databases, which contain codes for customs and economic activities, respectively. As expected, company and journalistic databases (e.g. Il Sole 24 Ore, Corriere della Sera (Globnet), MilanoFinanza, Il Mondo, and Kompass products) are almost exclusively protected by copyright and prohibit reproduction except for limited personal use. Naturally, this causes difficulties for Italian information researchers who wish work within full respect of the law and to uphold industry standards set by AIIP (www.aiip.org) and EIRENE (www.eirene.com).

Privacy

The principals of privacy (riservatezza) in the Italian territory are governed by a 1996 law (n° 675/96, Protection of persons and other subjects with respect to the use of personal data) and its successive modifications. The scope of this law on privacy is to guarantee that personal data are used in full respect of the rights, freedom, liberties and dignity of individuals (persone fisiche), with particular reference to privacy and personal identity (art. 1). At the same time, it guarantees these same rights to organizations (persone giuridiche), i.e. companies, public bodies and associations.

This law refers to any use (e.g. collection, storage, elaboration, distribution) of personal data, by both electronic and traditional means. The term "personal data" indicates any type of information that refers to an individual or organization, and is not restricted to "sensitive" data, i.e. that which refers to health, religion, or sexual preferences. Use of information for personal reasons - for example among friends and families - is not considered by the law, nor is information not referable to persons or organizations (i.e. anonymous data).

The Italian law establishes that personal data can be collected and utilized only with the expressive written consent of the subject. In the case of sensitive data, permission to collect the information must be obtained not only from the interested subject but also from the public administration (Garante, see below). In all cases, the interested subject has the rights to know what information regarding him has been obtained, to be informed of the motives for such data collection, and to order the cancellation or transformation of such information.

The law on privacy further specifies that whoever collects personal data (the "owner") is required to notify the public administration (Garante, see below) about the existence of the archive. Importantly, notification is not required when the data are collected from public registers, lists, or documents accessible to everyone. In order to transfer personal data from Italy to non-EU countries, a 15-day pre-notification to the Garante is necessary. Transfer is generally not allowed when the destination country is not able to guarantee an adequate level of protection.

The Garante

One key reference for following the legislation regarding privacy is the Garante per la Protezione dei Dati Personali (called "Garante"), a government body actually established by the law on privacy. The Garante, an independent committee consisting of 4 appointed members, is responsible for maintaining an archive of all activities involving the collection and storage of personal data. Businesses and associations which use personal data are obliged to notify the Garante of the existence of their archives. In addition, the Garante is charged with monitoring the use of personal data, identifying incorrect uses, receiving complaints about unfair use, and resolving these issues. The Garante maintains an interesting Web site (www.garanteprivacy.it), partly in English, with information on legislation and activities. The Garante also publishes a newsletter and an annual report, available free online. In the first year of activity (3/99-3/00), 197 cases were brought to the attention of the Garante and 163 decisions were made: 57 (35%) were declared not acceptable, 18 were unfounded, and 63 resolved spontaneously. A total of 25 cases were found to represent actual violations and the Garante obliged the data owner to comply with the law. Overall, the Garante provides a rapid and inexpensive means (L. 50 000 per complaint) for protecting rights.

The right to be informed

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the United Nations on 10 December 1948, is a key reference for a citizen's right to to be informed (also, the "right to know"). The Universal Declaration states that "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers" (art. 19). As pointed out by journalist M. Cammarata (giuriweb.unich.it/cammarat.htm), it is significant that the freedom of expression is cited in the same article as the right to be informed.

Cammarata continues to observe, however, that while the Italian Constitution (1947) clearly states the freedom of expression ("Everyone has the right to manifest freely his own thoughts by speech, writing and any other means", art. 21), it does not mention the right to be informed. Instead, this right is determined principally by two recent laws. The law on privacy, as previously described, gives citizens the right to know about personal data that have been collected and elaborated by others. A second law, called the "transparent government" law (n° 241/90, New norms regarding administrative procedures and the right to access administrative documents) dictates the modalities and limits by which one may obtain information from the public administration.

The transparent government law was designed to promote efficiency and openness in public administration decisions. It states that "to ensure transparency in administrative activities and to favor impartial decision-making, the right to access administrative documents is recognized to whosoever has an interest for legally relevant reasons". The law is clear in defining a valid reason: documents may only be accessed (viewed or copied) for the purpose of guaranteeing one's personal rights, and not for reasons of general knowledge or research. This motivation, which must be specified in every request, is important to protect the privacy of third parties whose personal data (even technical or production information about companies) may be at risk.

Certain details of this law are interesting for those who wish to request a document. The law refers to all administrative documents, in any form of support (e.g. print, multimedia, digital). Documents covered by state secret are excluded. The access to administrative documents is free for simple viewing, whereas a fee may be requested for reproduction. A request to access a specific document is made directly to the office that maintains the information; the request may be informal (verbal) or formal (written). The director of that office is responsible for accepting or rejecting the request. The decision must be made in 30 days, although no notification is necessary for refusals. In the case of a refusal, recourse to a regional administrative court is possible.

Conclusions

While the issues of copyright, privacy and the right to know are recognized by most nations, legislation on these topics varies considerably among countries, even within the European Union. Information researchers, whether independent or employed in industry, must be aware of the actual legislation in their target country to avoid infringing upon the law while searching for "publicly available" information. When researching information regarding Italy, a few rules should be remembered:

Many databanks are fully covered by copyright, and in their standard contracts do not recognize the activities of librarians or information researchers who may wish to produce one copy for a client. This fact requires information researchers to create original works based on knowledge gained, rather than simply deliver the relevant document to the client. It is auspicable that, on a European level, associations of information researchers lobby for recognition by major database producers and distributors. Nonetheless, many publicly created databases including the important Infocamere series do not impose restrictions on use or distribution of the content.

The Italian law on privacy refers to any information linkable to a person, company or other association, and is not restricted only to sensitive data. Information researchers must be careful to distinguish personal data from anonymous data or information in open-source documents. Only the latter two may be collected and elaborated without written permission of the interested subject and without informing the Garante. Additional limitations relate to the transfer of personal data outside of Italy.

In Italy, there is no legislation resembling the Freedom of Information Act in the US (or elsewhere) that grants the right to view government documents for motives of general knowledge. Instead, one may access documents held by the public administration only in situations considered legally relevant. For reasons of privacy, one may also be informed about the existence of personal data held in archives in the private or public sectors. This legislative situation makes obtaining administrative documents for competitive intelligence activities almost impossible.

This overview of the rights and responsibilities of information researchers in Italy is not meant to discourage, but instead to provide a legal basis for good research behavior. Information researchers interested in Italy have nonetheless many opportunities to work in full respect of privacy and copyright, especially when they are capable of providing their clients the added value of analysis and interpretation.

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