Intellectual Property Virtual Scholar Program

As part of the University of Maryland University College's commitment to national leadership in distance education, the Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Digital Environment (CIP) has established a Virtual Scholar-In-Residence Program. As part of our academic community, the Intellectual Property Scholar has the opportunity to collaborate with colleagues, conduct research, and teach. Our faculty, as well as the general community, benefit from new perspectives on intellectual property that the Scholar can provide through teaching, research, and outreach.

The scholars are selected because of their outstanding contribution to the world of copyright and intellectual property as well as their background in information technology, copyright law, policy and administration, scholarly electronic communication, and many other topics.

About the IP Scholar Program

Georgia K. Harper

Intellectual Property Scholar, 2006-2008

Brief Background
Selected Presentations
Recent Publications
Professional Memberships
Contact

Host of the CIP's blog:
©ollectanea: Collected perspectives on copyright

Brief Background

Georgia K. Harper is the Scholarly Communications Advisor for the University of Texas at Austin Libraries, where she focuses on issues of digital access. She was Senior Attorney and manager of the Intellectual Property Section of the Office of General Counsel for the University of Texas System until August 2006, where she specialized in copyright law.

While with the Office of General Counsel, she created the online publication, The Copyright Crash Course, that provides guidance to University faculty, students and staff concerning a wide range of copyright issues and is freely accessible to all universities and colleges.

She has conducted local, state, regional and national workshops and seminars on copyright issues and has been an advisor to the Council on Library and Information Resources, the Association of Research Libraries, the Association of American Universities, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges and the American Council on Education, as well as the National Initiative for a Networked Cultural Heritage in connection with its Copyright and Fair Use Town Meetings. She was named a fellow of the National Association of College and University Attorneys in June 2001.

Ms. Harper graduated with High Honors from the University of Texas at Austin with a B.S. in Education and with Honors from the University of Texas at Austin's Law School with a J.D. degree. She is currently pursuing a third degree from the University of Texas at Austin, this time in Information Science.

Selected Presentations

Invited Regional, National and International Lectures, Seminars and Workshops

Basic Copyright Issues

“Crash Course in Copyright of Lawyers New to Higher Education,” presented for the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), at its annual meeting in Chicago , Illinois , 2006.

“Internet Educators,” presented for Education and Research Centers Continuing Education Directors' Meeting (funded by National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health [NIOSH]) at Albuquerque , New Mexico . 2005.

“Copyright Traditions and Future Directions,” presented at Universidad Francisco Marroquín, Guatemala City , Guatemala . 2005.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented in a scenario-based workshop for the Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL) 2004 Seminar at Cornell University , Ithaca , New York . 2004.

“Copyright Basics: What's Different with Digital Primary Source Materials,” presented at the OCLC Copyright in a Digital Age Workshop, Honolulu, Hawaii, September, 2004, as a “ Virtually Missouri” Pre-Conference Workshop, Independence, Missouri - February, 2004, in San Diego, California, January, 2004 and in Washington, D.C. 2003.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the Online Content: Policy, Strategy, and Support program sponsored by the Northwest Academic Computer Consortium (NWACC), Portland , Oregon . 2003.

“Copyright: The State of the Law,” presented at the National Association of College and University Attorneys' (NACUA) 43 rd Annual Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota. 2003.

“Intellectual Property: Copyright Law,” presented at the 63 rd WACUBO Annual Meeting sponsored by Western Association of College and University Business Officers, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2001.

“The Economics of Copyright,” presented for the Americas Globalization Delegation sponsored by the International Hospitality Council of Austin (IHCA), Austin , Texas . 2001.

”Copyright Basics, Ownership and Liability,” – a full-day workshop for Texas A&M University faculty covering topics normally presented in 4 separate lectures, College Station, Texas. 2001.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the Copyright Town Meeting at Rice University , sponsored by the National Initiative For a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH), Houston , Texas . 2001.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the Cyberspace 2000: Taming Internet Issues On Your Campus workshop sponsored by National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), Portland , Oregon . 2000.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the 21 st Annual National Conference on Law and Higher Education, hosted by Stetson College of Law, Tampa , Florida . 2000.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the Law for the University Administrator workshop at Arizona State University , Phoenix , Arizona . 2000.

“E-Commerce Issues for Nonprofits,” presented at The 17 th Annual Nonprofit Organizations Institute, Houston , Texas . 2000.

Fair Use

“Digital Delivery of Educational Materials,” presented for the Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL) 2006 Seminar at Cornell University , Ithaca , New York . 2006.

"Fair Use in the Research Library,” presented for the Independent Research Libraries Association Professional Development Seminar, Sponsored by the American Library Association and Disney at The Getty Research Institute, Los Angeles , California . 2005.

"Practical Solutions to ETD Issues: Lessons Learned After 1000 Submissions,” presented with co-author Tim Brace at the Electronic Theses & Dissertations (ETD) 2003 Seminar at Humboldt University, Berlin, Germany. 2003.

Educational Use of Music and Images

“Revolution in the Recording Industry,” presented at the 2003 Plenary Session of the Music Library Association, Austin , Texas . 2003.

“Music and Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at the Eighth International Technological Directions in Music Learning Conference at The University of Texas at San Antonio , San Antonio , Texas . 2001.

The TEACH Act and Distance Education

“TEACH Act in Context,” presented at The Institute for Managing and Developing E-Learning (MDE) sponsored by Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), Park City , Utah . 2003.

“The TEACH Act,” presented to the Texas Library Association (TLA), Houston , Texas . 2003.

“The TEACH Act,” presented in a live satellite event, “Copyright Issues Online,” sponsored by the Dallas County Community College District, Dallas, Texas. 2003.

“TEACH Act,” presented to Common Solutions Group of the Carnegie Mellon University and The University of Texas at Austin, Austin , Texas . 2003.

“Copyright Law for Distance Educators,” presented at The Advances in Teaching and Learning Regional Conference at The University of Texas Health Science Center Houston, Houston , Texas . 2003.

“Copyright Issues in Distance Learning,” presented to the Teaching, Learning and Technology Committee of Baylor University, Waco , Texas . 2002.

“Copyright Law for Online Learning,” presented to the faculty at Texas Womans' University (TWU), Denton , Texas . 2002.

“OpenCourseWare at Massachusetts Institute of Technology: Effects of Copyright Law,” presented on the MIT OpenCourseWare Initiative sponsored by The Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), San Diego, California. 2001.

“Copyright Issues in E-Learning,” presented at The Digital University Comes of Age: E-Education, Communication and Commerce seminar sponsored by The National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), Washington , D.C. 2001.

“Copyright Issues in Higher Education,” presented at the Distance Learning in Geriatrics Education Workshop sponsored by the Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and Services Administration in Bethesda , Maryland . 2001.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented to the University of Arizona faculty, Tucson , Arizona . 2001.

“Issues on Copyright and Intellectual Property Rights for Online Teaching,” presented to the faculty at The Northern Illinois University, DeKalb , Illinois . 2001.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented at The Institute for Managing and Developing E-learning (MDE) sponsored by the Western Cooperative for Educational Telecommunications (WCET), Park City, Utah, 2001.

“Copyright Law in Cyberspace,” presented by videoconference to the Hispanic Educational Telecommunications System (HETS), Austin , Texas . 2001.

“Copyright Law in the Electronic Environment,” presented to the faculty of the Center for Teaching and Learning at Whitman College , Walla Walla , Washington . 2001.

“Copyright and Distance Learning,” presented at The Fourth Annual Texas Higher Education Law Conference at the University of North Texas , Denton , Texas . 2000.

“A Closer Look at Distance Learning: The Impact of Technology on Intellectual Property and Labor/Employment Law Across Campus,” presented at the 39 th Annual Conference sponsored by the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), Nashville, Tennessee. 1999.

Institutional Liability and Risk Management

“Copyright Risk Management,” presented for the Western Association of College and University Business Officers (WACUBO), Banff Springs , Canada . 2003.

“DMCA ISP Liability,” presented in a scenario-based workshop for the Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL) 2003 Seminar at Cornell University , Ithaca , New York . 2003.

“Colleges and Copyright: Avoiding Infringement and Managing Risk,” presented at a Virtual Seminar hosted by National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA), Austin, Texas. 2002.

“Defenses to Liability,” “Fair Use” and “Ownership,” presented at a full-day workshop, Managing Intellectual Property Rights in the Digital Era: Policies and Practices, sponsored by VCampus, Crystal City, Washington. 2001.

Ownership, Use and Policy Development

“Evaluating and Improving Policies and Guidelines,” presented at the Creating IP Policy and Guidelines For The VR Collection workshop sponsored by The Visual Resources Association (VRA) at Rice University , Houston , Texas . 2003.

“Copyright Issues in Higher Education,” presented to the New Jersey Council of College Presidents of New Jersey State Colleges, Trenton , New Jersey . 2003.

Roundtable participant in the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Roundtable Discussion, “Institutional Intellectual Property Policies in the Academic Arena,” New York City , New York . 2002.

“Getting the Ball Rolling,” presented at the Creating Policy: Town Meeting and Workshop sponsored by the National Initiative For a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) at The University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. 2001.

“Copyright: Both Sides Now,” presented at the Copyright Law in Cyberspace, Post-Conference Workshop , Copyright, Intellectual Property, and Academic Tradition: You Can Run But You Can Not Hide Symposium at The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2001.

“Ownership Issues” and “Conflicts of Interest,” presented at the University of Vermont 's 11 th Annual Legal Issues in Higher Education Conference, Burlington , Vermont . 2001.

“Intellectual Property Policy and Online Learning,” presented to the Board of Governors at the Central Missouri State University , Warrensburg , Missouri . 2000.

Participant in the symposium, “Who Owns Online Courses and Course Materials: Intellectual Property Policies for a New Learning Environment,” sponsored by the Pew Symposia in Learning and Technology, Miami , Florida . 2000.

Library, Archive and Museum Issues

“Copyright Law for Archivists,” presented at the National Initiative For a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) Copyright in a Digital Age: Association of Moving Image Archivists Pre-Conference Workshop, Vancouver , British Columbia . 2003.

“Sound Savings: Copyright Law and Audio Preservation,” presented at the Audio Preservation Symposium sponsored by the Library of Congress at The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas. 2003.

“Copyright Law for Archivists,” presented at the National Initiative For a Networked Cultural Heritage (NINCH) Copyright in a Digital Age: Society of American Archivists Pre-Conference Workshop, Los Angeles , California . 2003.

“Archiving Foreign Political Ephemeral Websites,” presented to The Center for Research Libraries (CRL) and Latin American Network Information Center (LANIC) at The University of Texas at Austin , Austin , Texas . 2002.

“The Changing Impact of Copyright on Libraries,” presented at the Southwest Association of Theological Librarians (SWATLA), Austin , Texas . 2002.

“Electronic Reserves: The Distribution of Digital Learning Materials and the Service Concepts of University Libraries,” presented at Helsinki University Library for The National University Library System of Finland, Helsinki , Finland . 2001.

“The Changing Impact of Copyright on Libraries,” presented to The Cornell University Library System at Cornell University , Ithaca , New York . 2001.

”Copyright Law in the Electronic Environment,” presented at the On the Border seminar sponsored by the South Central Chapter of the Medical Library Association, El Paso, Texas. 2000.

Technology Issues

“DMCA: ISP's and Anti-circumvention,” presented for the Institute for Computer Policy and Law (ICPL) 2006 Seminar at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. 2006.

“P2P: Legalities, Policies and Ethics,” presented at the EduTEX Regional Conference, San Antonio , Texas . 2001.

“Copyright in the Digital Age,” presented at the Seminars on Academic Computing Conference, sponsored by EduCause, Aspen , Colorado . 2000.

Recent Publications

Copyright & The University Community, a monograph of the Office of General Counsel, The University of Texas System, August 1993

Professional Memberships

Texas Bar Association, admitted to practice January 1993

California Bar Association, admitted to practice June 1989

National Association of College and University Attorneys

Chair, Publications Committee - 2002 – 2003; 2003 – 2004
Member, Task Force on Electronic Delivery - 2002 – 2003
Member, Planning Committee - 2001 – 2002
Vice-Chair, Publications Committee - 2000 – 2001
Member, Publications Committee - 1998 –1999
Member, Information Services Committee - 1997 – 1998

Council on Library Information Resources

Member, Advisory Committee on Scholarly Communication, 2006

Association of American Universities

Member, Copyright Task Force for Copyright Legislation Review Board – 1998

Indiana University in Bloomington , Indiana

Member, Intellectual Property Advisory Committee for “The Variations2 Project: Indiana University Digital Music Library Project”