Speaking of educating (see previous post), here’s one chance to help promote copyright education. The U.S. Copyright Office provides the opportunity via a very short survey. Be honest, and really try not to look up the answer to #1 on Wikipedia.

There are so many “teachable moments” where faculty or staff can begin to talk about copyright and fair use with students, whether it’s using visual resources from the internet in a class assignment, how and why to cite sources, sharing class readings with classmates or some other scenario. While copyright notices are always posted at photocopy machines, scanners and within electronic reserve pages, many students probably do not read or think much about them. The Library of Congress is making an effort, but here at CUNY how do you reach out to your students to educate them on the importance of understanding the terms of fair use? Please share your stories and/or suggestions by commenting here or by contacting the copyright committee.

Columbia U. is hosting this free event on March 27: “Standards & Strategies for Fair Use Decisions inside Libraries & Universities.” More details to appear on the site soon, but save the morning – this is a good one!  It’s got our friends Brandon Butler and Peter Jaszi who have been touted on this blog previously and a few others as well.  While you’re on the Columbia web site, poke around at the great resources the Copyright Advisory Office has to offer.

This short video is a wonderful introduction to the use of Creative Commons licenses including a clear and simple explanation of copyright. This could be a useful resource for faculty to share with students when discussing both plagiarism and creating content – ideally dissuading against the former and promoting the latter!

The Center for Social Media has issued the most recent Fair Use Question of the Month. This one relates to using copyrighted material on Blackboard sites. It takes a critical look at the widely-touted “four factors” checklist for making fair use decisions on a case-by-case basis. It’s a good question that is likely relevant to many CUNY faculty.

It’s here! The Association of Research Libraries Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries. Librarians are especially pleased about this, but it’s good news for everyone. Remember: Work that fair use muscle, or lose it.  Check out ARL’s YouTube channel and this recent Fair Use FAQ for librarians. And here’s the Chronicle of Higher Ed‘s take on the new code.

Others codes of best practices for fair use can be found at the Center for Social Media.

The Association of Research Libraries will be discussing the forthcoming Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries via webcast on Thursday, January 26 at 3pm EST. Developed through thorough research and drawing on the expertise of lawyers Brandon Butler and Peter Jaszi and Center for Social Media director Pat Aufderheide, this eagerly awaited endeavor addresses a number of fair use challenges with which academic libraries contend on a regular basis. Read more about the webcast and register here. If you’re unable to attend, you can catch the whole thing on ARL’s YouTube channel anon.

Jaszi and Aufderheide are the authors of Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright (highly recommended, user-friendly guide to the subject), and Butler and Jaszi starred at the Copyright & Fair Use conference held at BMCC last April.

For some of you, the appearance of this blog or just the mere word “copyright” might provoke the fight or flight response (most likely the latter). If the concept of copyright and fair use is new to you or you’ve been avoiding it for too long, a good place to ease into it might be this short yet comprehensive video created by MIT. It provides a clear overview and is especially helpful for questions regarding using images from the web. Just over nine minutes long.

The U.S. Copyright Office is considering a small claims court for (small) copyright infringement cases in an effort to assuage the high legal fees on all sides when brought to a federal court. While the existence of such courts would make it easier for copyright holders to bring cases (leading to a potential explosion of cases), it might also give fair use more chances to get the exercise it needs. Make your own judgment after reading this piece from ArtInfo. You can also add your voice to the Copyright Office’s report. Deadline is Jan. 17.

Some may be interested in a related story involving art reproductions.

Instances of simplicity in this complex subject matter are always welcome. Read Seth Godin’s “Simple Thoughts About Fair Use.”