Join us to discuss the legal future of our cultural heritage. This presentation by Kyle K. Courtney (Harvard University) and Will Cross NC State University) will address how copyright law and the licensing systems that have now become so prevalent for consumer-licensed content, such as through Netflix, Hulu, and iTunes, are jeopardizing the ability of libraries and archives to preserve those works and make them available to researchers in the future. Those services almost always come with significant strings attached, through their terms of service, that disallow basic research and teaching uses such as classroom performances, creation of preservation copies, and library access for private study and research. The session will cover efforts to untangle these knotty copyright and licensing hurdles, including through the powerful rights provided to libraries and researchers through “fair use.”

Texas A&M University Libraries is hosting a presentation by Professor Glynn S. Lunney, Jr., School of Law, Texas A&M University titled “Fair Use and the Citizen Author.” Professor Lunney will focus on the role of Fair Use in protecting the ability of podcasters, fan fiction authors, and other “citizen” authors to create and distribute their works. Tying into this theme, the Libraries is inviting the community to tour The Studio, which offers services and tools to create and edit graphics, video, audio, and multimedia projects.

Join the MIT Libraries for Fair Use Week at this hands-on workshop to learn about your legal rights to reuse, parody, and build on pre-existing copyrighted materials. Learn about appropriation artists who have been sued, and how to NOT be sued for your own projects. Participants will learn to make a book-binding structure to create their own art book or zine using found materials, and will come away with a work which IS a fair use, and an understanding of HOW to utilize their fair use rights in their creative projects.
Fair use is the part of copyright law which lets you – without asking permission or paying a fee – use pre-existing materials for your own creative ends. Fair use is essential for free speech, and you rely on it every day, but it is often misunderstood. Come to this workshop to learn how to assess fair use and know your rights!
Registration is limited. We will provide materials, but please feel free to also bring materials you would like to turn into art!
Note: Participants should meet at the Maihaugen Gallery (14N-130) to be escorted to the Wunsch Conservation Lab (14-0513).