Stanford Center for Internet and Society

January 1 is Public Domain Day--the day when new works around the world come into the public domain.

We made a simple program...

There's been a good deal of posts about Google's XLM file of copyright renewal records, mainly of books. See http://creativecommons.org/weblog/entry/8412 and http://www.boingboing.net/2008/06/24/copyright-renewal-re.html for two examples.

Just a quick post to say that I will be guest blogging at Terra Nova this month. I, along with my 2L research assistant, Rachel Goda, will be discussing our current project in Second Life, where we take 100 first year property law students into Second Life to see what comparisons they can find to modern property with virtual property.

So, thanks to the Librarian of Congress, film professors and media studies professors can now make a compilation of film clips for class without breaking the law. But ONLY film professors and media studies professors.

From the Copyright Office’s website:

The Librarian of Congress, on the recommendation of the Register of Copyrights, has announced the classes of works subject to the exemption from the prohibition against circumvention of technological measures that control access to copyrighted works. Persons making noninfringing uses of the following six classes of works will not be subject to the prohibition against circumventing access controls (17 U.S.C. § 1201(a)(1)) during the next three years.

I've been awarded a Leverhulme Trust Visiting Fellowship for 2005-06 at the London School of Economics. This will give me time to work on my project COPYRIGHT AND A SCHOLAR'S WORK as well as teach a couple of courses on copyright. So we are off to London in September.

I am starting to post some of my thoughts on individual questions at http://academiccopyright.typepad.com. I am trying to get all six questions done today, but so far I've put up comments on 3 and 4.

The full questions are also at this site.

I've been thinking about the recent copyright office call for comments on orphan works. What is it that I would wish? The word that keeps coming back to me is "transparency." I have to live within the system, but it would be so nice if one could have tools that helped with this process -- that is

- online data bases FROM THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE (or somewhere else official) that one could search easily to see if a work has been renewed

- online data bases FROM THE COPYRIGHT OFFICE (or somewhere else official) that provided current contact information for any work under copyright

- some sort of scheme whereby if one couldn't find the owner after reasonable search, the Copyright Office would say it was ok to use the work (similiar to the Canadian system?)

Book-length projects
The Making of the Great War Generation (in progress)
A comparative biography reexamining the meaning of generation, with particular attention paid to gender and those not generally included in the canonized literature (although the canonized writers are very much part of the project.) Individuals discussed include Vera Brittain, Erich Maria Remarque, Edmund Blunden, Mary Lee, Malcolm Cowley, Ezra Pound, Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, R.C. Sherriff, Robert Graves, and many, many others.

I am in search of stories from scholars of their experiences with copyright -- good, happy stories that will inspire others; sad, sad tales; personal experiences with literary executors; struggles with multimedia projects -- the whole range. I am trying to get a sense of exactly what scholars are facing with regard to copyright. We all hear the stories of Hemingway and the other famous examples -- Gone with the Wind, Peter Pan. What about others? What about merely situations where copyright is uncertain and so one doesn't proceed with a project? If you come across this post, and know of people who have stories to tell, please pass along my email or blog address -- elizabeth at townsend dot net. You are also welcome to post them as a comment.

I've been thinking about the New Year and new projects. Here are some thoughts. I feel like I've been quite neglectful on this site. This will all change with the New Year. Here is what I'm planning to concentrate my time:I would like to start collecting copyright stories from students, scholars, and teachers, both success and struggles. I am trying to work out a way to do this. Right now, if you have stories you would like to share, you can email me directly at elizabeth at towsend dot net. I am particularly interested in experiences in acquiring permissions, using fair use instead of permissions, and any snags using material in the public domain. I am interested in both traditional projects (monographs, articles, the classroom) as well as digital and internet projects. Please let me know if I can share these stories with others, and if so, if you prefer to remain anon.