Copyright / Intellectual Property Policies

This 26 minute podcast features an interview with Duane Webster, Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries. Our conversation was recorded at the CNI 2008 Spring Task Force Meeting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Duane E. Webster is Executive Director of the Association of Research Libraries, an organization representing 123 major research libraries in North America. The mission of ARL is to identify and influence forces affecting the future of research libraries in the process of scholarly communication.

Duane received his M.A.L.S. from the University of Michigan in 1964, and worked in research, public, and special libraries before joining ARL in 1970 to establish the ARL Office of Leadership and Management Services (OLMS).

This podcast features a panel discussion of peer-to-peer filesharing. It was recorded at the EDUCAUSE 2008 Western Regional Conference, and is entitled, "Don't Download This Panel".

The attention of—and on—higher education has been focused on defensive measures to curb illegal file sharing. But this is occurring in the context of a much larger national debate about the appropriate role of copyright and intellectual property in cyberspace. Simultaneously, myriad new business models and delivery options for online digital entertainment are being tested. Ê What are institutions of higher education doing to curb illegal file sharing? What are the issues in the larger copyright debate? And what is the vision of the entertainment industry for offering digital entertainment online? A panel of distinguished experts in the field discusses these and other pertinent issues in the peer-to-peer file sharing debate.

The panel includes:

Copyright continues to be a core interest of the higher education and academic library communities. In this briefing, Update on Key Copyright Developments in the U.S., presenter James G. Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian, Columbia University, will focus on eight critical legislative and legal arenas where the United States will be working on copyright: orphan works, digital fair use, broadcast flag, Section 1201 anti-circumvention rulemaking, electronic reserves, peer-to-peer file sharing, open access to government-funded research, and the report of the Section 108 Study Group on exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives. The work of the study group will be highlighted, including its primary findings and recommendations. In addition, two important recent studies will be described and their importance for libraries will be cited.

The copyright legislative process in Washington traditionally focuses on increasing the protection provided to copyrights, based on the assumption that this will strengthen the economy. Recent research, however, indicates that exceptions to copyright protection also promote innovation and are a major catalyst of U.S. economic growth. Specific exceptions to copyright protection under U.S. and international law, generally classified under the broad heading of fair use, are vital to many industries and stimulate growth across the economy. In fact, business enterprises that benefit from fair use generate substantial revenue, employ millions of workers, and, in 2006, represented one-sixth of total U.S. gross domestic product. This economic research suggests that future copyright legislation needs to account for these important limitations if the policy-making process is to stimulate growth.

The recording industry’s complaints against alleged music downloaders are just the tip of the iceberg in legal threats against online activity. In the five years of the Chilling Effects Clearinghouse, we have seen thousands of legal threats, with claims including trademark infringement, defamation, and copyright infringement. This seminar will discuss some of the range of complaints, both unwarranted and justified, and describe ChillingEffects.org’s resources for those trying to evaluate legal threats. In some cases, the web’s sunlight can help to melt meritless threats.

In this free January 23 EDUCAUSE LIVE! seminar, Legal Threats, Chilling Effects, and Warming the Air, presenter Wendy Seltzer, Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet & Society, and Visiting Professor, Northeastern University School of Law, will discuss these threats and how to evaluate them.

In this 20 minute podcast, we feature an interview with Jim Neal, Vice President for Information Services and University Librarian at Columbia University. He provides leadership for university academic computing and network services as well as a system of twenty-five libraries. He also works with the Electronic Publishing Initiative at Columbia (EPIC) and the Columbia Center for New Media Teaching and Learning (CCNMTL). He serves on key academic, technology, budget and policy groups at the University.

Neal has also represented the American library community in testimony on copyright matters before Congressional committees and was an advisor to the U.S. delegation at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) diplomatic conference on copyright. He has worked on copyright policy and advisory groups for universities and professional and higher education associations. He was selected the 1997 Academic/Research Librarian of the Year by ALA's Association of College and Research Libraries.

This 36-minute podcast recorded during the EDUCAUSE 2007 Annual Conference features Warren S. Arbogast, President, Boulder Management Group, LLC, Cheryl Asper Elzy, Dean, University Libraries, Illinois State University, David Greenfield, Director, Student Technology, Illinois State University, and Mark S. Walbert, Associate Vice President, Academic Information Technology, Illinois State University in a session titled "Researching P2P Activity: What Students Say Versus What They Really Do."

The session abstract:

This 44-minute podcast recorded during the EDUCAUSE 2007 Annual Conference features Peggy Hoon, Special Assistant to the Provost for Copyright Administration, North Carolina State University, Robert R. Hoon, Associate General Counsel, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, and Thomas K. Miller, III, Vice Provost, Distance Education and Learning Technology Applications, North Carolina State University in a session titled "What Can You Do? The Rest of the Copyright Story."

The session abstract:

The ARL's Know Your Copy Rights is a multifaceted campus copyright education initiative that accentuates the positive and emphasizes what you can do with copyrighted materials. This effort offers resources, including a unique brochure, specifically created for all campus constituencies with the assistance of nationally recognized copyright educators.

In this 13-minute podcast, we feature an interview with Susie Quartey, Associate Director-Copyright Licensing Office, Brigham Young University. She discusses the current copyright issues higher education. She also describes useful tools BYU has developed to assist and educate its campus community including a copyright tutorial.

In this 12-minute podcast, we feature a phone interview with Heather Gordon, Director, Information Services and University Librarian, James Cook University . She discusses the University's recent Review of Information Services Report and the role of the library and its staff in providing resources to enhance learning, research, and information literacy. Gordon also discusses her role as Copyright Officer for James Cook University.