The Law & Policy Working Group helps shape the legal conditions needed to preserve software for the long term—especially historical, legacy, and culturally important software. Because software preservation often involves complex issues like copyright, licensing, and data privacy, the group works to lower legal barriers through advocacy, education, and support for public institutions. By clarifying and improving the legal landscape, they make software preservation more accessible and advance SPN’s mission to ensure long-term access to software as a part of our cultural and historical record.
Overview
The Law & Policy Working Group directly supports SPN’s mission by tackling the legal and policy challenges that come with software preservation. This work makes it easier for institutions to preserve and provide access to software with cultural and historical value. Key activities include:
- Advocacy for Legal Reforms: Actively engaging with government agencies to advocate for legal reforms and exemptions (including DMCA exemptions) that enable preservation by libraries, archives, and museums.
- Copyright and IP Education: Producing resources to clarify the legal complexities of software preservation, including copyright regulations, licensing issues, and intellectual property rights.
- Policy Development and Collaboration: Collaborating with other stakeholders to develop policies that align with the needs of software preservationists, particularly within the public and academic sectors.
- Research on Legal Aspects: Conducting research into the legal challenges of software preservation, publishing findings, and facilitating discussions that inform advocacy efforts.
- Public Resource Sharing: Producing and sharing publicly accessible resources, including case studies and guides, to help others navigate complex regulations.
- Engaging with Community: Hosting “office hours” to provide direct support to community members and raising awareness about secured rights and legal resources available.
The Law & Policy Working Group has helped achieve important legal progress for software preservation: Major successes include securing DMCA exemptions that allow libraries, archives, and other cultural institutions to preserve software. The group has also intervened in important legal cases, helping to clarify the legal status of software preservation and pushing for exemptions within intellectual property law.
Through accessible educational resources, they’ve made copyright law easier to understand and apply—empowering preservationists to navigate and exercise their rights. They also champion the preservation of open-source and public-domain software by advocating for clearer rights and regulations, helping ensure these resources remain available for future generations.
How You Might Engage
The Law & Policy Working Group is an active and collaborative community, and we welcome new members who are eager to contribute and learn. Here are ways you can get involved:
Learn from Legal Experts:
This is the only U.S.-based forum where archivists, software experts, and legal scholars co-develop guidance to align copyright law with the realities of software stewardship.
Share Your Experiences:
Help the group understand how copyright issues affect your work “on the ground”, thus shaping our advocacy efforts and ensuring that the needs of the preservation community are accurately represented.
Join Advocacy Campaigns: Contribute to efforts like the DMCA rulemaking process or other legal initiatives that affect the future of software preservation by drafting comments, helping gather evidence, or amplifying advocacy messages.
Create Educational Resources: Contribute to the development of new literacy tools, such as case studies or explanatory guides, to help the community better understand and navigate copyright and IP law.
If you’re passionate about making software preservation more feasible and sustainable through legal and policy work, we encourage you to join the Law & Policy Working Group and help shape the future of this critical area.
News & Events
SPN and Library Copyright Alliance Petition for Updated DMCA Rules to Expand Access to Preserved Software
The Software Preservation Network ended 2023 with a bang, filing its first set of arguments in the latest cycle of the triennial DMCA rulemaking. We were represented by our attorneys at the Harvard Cyberlaw Clinic, and joined in the filing …Continue SPN and Library Copyright Alliance Petition for Updated DMCA Rules to Expand Access to Preserved Software
Briefs/Filings, Featured News, Law Posts, News
Amicus Brief in Green v. Department of Justice
SPN joined an amicus brief in Green v. DOJ, a lawsuit brought by the online civil rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation against the US government challenging key parts of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The suit argues that the Act’s …Continue Amicus Brief in Green v. Department of Justice
Briefs/Filings, Featured News, Law Posts, News
SPN Supports Proposed Changes to Access to Electronic Works
The Software Preservation Network has submitted comments to the US Copyright Office in support of proposed changes to access to electronic works. You can read more about these proposed changes in this blog post by Lila Bailey (Internet Archive) and …Continue SPN Supports Proposed Changes to Access to Electronic Works
Briefs/Filings, Featured News, Law Posts, News
Resources
Section 108 and Software Collections: A User’s Guide
Abstract This user’s guide explains Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act in the context of software collections in libraries and archives. Like fair use, Section 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act provides important rights for libraries and archives engaged in …Continue Section 108 and Software Collections: A User’s Guide
Reports, Resources
Copyright Guide for Scientific Software
About the Guide This guide covers how to make it easier for others to use your software and how to build on the software that others have written. Today, science involves software. And although many scientists understand that their work …Continue Copyright Guide for Scientific Software
Guides, Resources
Understanding the Anti-circumvention Rules and the Preservation Exemptions
In this fifth episode in a seven-part series about using the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use, you’ll learn : What the DMCA anti-circumvention provisions are and how they relate to copyright, fair use, and the Code How the …Continue Understanding the Anti-circumvention Rules and the Preservation Exemptions
BP4FairUse, Resources, Webinars
If you’re passionate about making software preservation more feasible and sustainable through legal and policy work, we encourage you to join the Law & Policy Working Group and help shape the future of this critical area.