Can I Share It? Part 1: Copyright Basics and Fair Use for AV Collections

Day and Time: September 19, 6:30-8:30pm

Description: Led by a copyright AV specialist and a copyright lawyer, this workshop will assist community organizations and media makers in navigating the often confusing world of copyright and fair use for audiovisual materials. Among the key questions that will be explored are: How can the U.S. Copyright Act affect the use and access of AV materials? What is fair use? How can fair use be applied to community media collections and archives? What are the best practices around copyright and fair use in these settings? 

Learning Objectives:

  • You will learn the Constitutional reason for copyright policy in the U.S. 
  • You will learn the crucial importance of exceptions and limitations, to balance monopoly rights in copyright
  • You will learn the meaning of “fair use” within today’s law
  • You will learn why employing fair use is essential to the core work of archivists and collections managers
  • You will learn how archivists and collections managers interpret best practices in fair use for archives and collections.
  • You will learn about potential challenges to your fair use, and how to respond to them.

Instructors: Patricia Aufderheide (American University) and Brandon Butler (University of Virginia)

Patricia is University Professor of Communication Studies in the School of Communication at American University in Washington, D.C. She founded the School’s Center for Media & Social Impact, where she continues as Senior Research Fellow. Her books include Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright (University of Chicago), with Peter Jaszi, and Documentary: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford). Aufderheide has received numerous journalism and scholarly awards, including the George Stoney award for service to documentary from the University Film and Video Association in 2015, the International Communication Association’s 2010 for Communication Research as an Agent of Change Award, Woman of Vision award from Women in Film and Video (DC) in 2010, a career achievement award in 2008 from the International Digital Media and Arts Association and the Scholarship and Preservation Award in 2006 from the International Documentary Association.

Brandon Butler is the Director of Information Policy at the University of Virginia Library, where he provides guidance and education to the Library and its user community on intellectual property and related issues. He’s also a partner in the law firm Jaszi Butler PLLC. Butler is the author or co-author of a range of articles, book chapters, guides, and presentations about copyright, with a focus on the fair use doctrine, libraries, and higher education. Butler has taught copyright and supervised student attorneys in the IP Law Clinic at American University, and advocated for research libraries around the country at the Association of Research Libraries. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2008.

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