Fred von Lohmann on the Future of ©
The staff of the CIP spends a great deal of time
thinking about both the current state of
copyright as
well as what the future may hold. With all the
copyright issues currently swirling about
society, we
think a lot of other people may be contemplating
these questions also. Hence, the theme of the
upcoming
CIP Annual Symposium is Copyright Utopia: Alternative Visions,
Methods and
Policies.
 With that topic in mind, CIP
Executive Director Kimberly
Bonner spoke recently with one of the keynote
speakers for this year's symposium: Fred von
Lohmann, Senior Intellectual Property
Attorney at the
Electronic Freedom
Foundation.
Mr. von Lohmann has represented many clients in
litigation against major record labels, movie
studios,
television/cable networks, and music
publishers. In
addition to litigation, he is involved in
EFF's efforts to
educate policy-makers regarding the provision of
balance between intellectual property protection and
the public interest in fair use, free expression, and
innovation.
Before joining EFF, von Lohmann was a visiting
researcher
with the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology,
where his research focused on the impact of
peer-to-
peer (P2P) technologies on the future of
copyright.
Prior to his research fellowship, von Lohmann was an
attorney
with the firm of Morrison & Foerster LLP,
concentrating
on transactions and counseling involving the
Internet
and intellectual property. Fred has also
served as a
law clerk to Chief Judge Thelton Henderson,
of the US
District Court for Northern California, and
Judge Betty
B. Fletcher, of the US Ninth Circuit Court of
Appeals.
He received both his undergraduate and law
degrees
from Stanford University. He serves as an
adviser to
the American Law Institute's (ALI) Principles
of the
Law of Software Contracts project. He also
serves on
the advisory boards of Public Knowledge and the
Future of Music Coalition. [Learn more about Mr.
von
Lohmann.]
In his conversation with Kimberly Bonner, Mr. von
Lohmann tells
how he
became involved in copyright and intellectual
property
law, mentions some of the cases currently being
watched by EFF, reflects on the theme of
copyright
utopia as it relates to "creative
destruction", and
comments on the role of higher education in the
copyright conversation. He also highlights an
exciting
new venture that will likely be announced in
May called
the ePedia of Life, an idea put forth by
Harvard's E.O.
Wilson.
Listen to the Podcast Conversation...
 [Subscribe to the CIP podcast
feed]
...and don't forget to register to attend the symposium to hear
more
from Fred von Lohmann and additional
speakers of interest.
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©ollectanea Blog
Collected Perspectives on Copyright
In early February, the CIP rolled out its new blog:
©ollectanea. In literary terms, a collectanea [kol-ek-tey-
nee-uh] is a collection of writings. We have adapted
this idea in order to bring together and present some
of the thoughts, reflections, and musings of the Center
for Intellectual Property's Scholar, Georgia Harper, and
her guest bloggers on current copyright issues.
During the month of March, Peg O'Donnell, Associate
General Counsel for Policy and Compliance, Catholic
University of America, has been Georgia's co-blogger.
In April, readers can look forward to ongoing posts
from Georgia as well as from guest Steven McDonald,
General Counsel, Rhode Island School of Design.
Join the discussion.
Recent postings have included:
Visit and get the ©ollectanea feed here...
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7th Annual Symposium
May 21-23, 2007; Adelphi, MD
Will your copyright
future be
Orwellian,
living within the copyright Matrix,
or be a Brave New World?
What would copyright utopia look like?
Do you envision an island paradise surrounded by
oceans of free content lapping at your feet?
An alpine
retreat from which you can survey the wonders
of a
wide, wireless wilderness? A walled garden where
content is safe and secure and accessible to
those
who abide by its laws? A metropolis along the
information interstate, bustling with energy
and drive,
buzzing and hopping and popping with sound and
video around the clock? Is every piece of
data or
content freely and fully available--no
restrictions, no
fees, and no questions asked? Or is
everything under
lock and key with access granted only to a
paying
membership? Or do you wish to live somewhere in
between?
Join the CIP
as we convene this conversation
with
noted scholars and practitioners to discuss the
current state of copyright nationally and
internationally.
Keynote & Distinguished Guest Speakers
- Fred von Lohmann, Senior Intellectual
Property
Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation -- U.S.
Copyright Law: A Broken System Needing
Repair?
- William Fisher, Director, Berkman
Center
for
Internet & Society, Harvard University Law
School --
Utopian Visions of Copyright: Tweak,
Transform or
Opt-out?
- William Kirwan, Chancellor,
University
System of
Maryland; Co-Chair, Joint Committee of the
Higher
Education and Entertainment Communities
Technology Task Force
Full List of Confirmed Speakers
General Sessions
- Responses to Keynote Addresses
- Closed is Not Necessarily the Other Side
of Open:
Open Access Initiatives
- International Approaches
- Tweaking Copyright: Legislative
Alternatives
- Licensing & the Commons as Copyright
Alternatives
- Transforming Copyright: Technological
Alternatives
Pre-Conference Seminars
- Copyright 101, with Ken Crews
- E-Reserves Policy & Implementation, with
Donna
Ferullo
This program sponsored, in
part,
by the generous
support of:
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Comments Submitted to Section 108 Study Group
The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of
copyright experts, convened by the Library of
Congress, and charged with updating for the digital
world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights
of creators and copyright owners and the needs of
libraries and archives. The group will submit by mid-
2007 to the Librarian of Congress its findings and
recommendations on how to revise the copyright law
in order to ensure an appropriate balance in a manner
that best serves the national interest. The Study
Group convened a public roundtable discussion this
past January regarding issues relating to the
exceptions and limitations applicable to libraries and
archives under the Copyright Act. At that time, the
Study Group also began soliciting written comments
from all interested parties on issues relating primarily
to making and distributing copies pursuant to
requests by individual users, as well as to provision of
user access to unlicensed digital works. By the time
the this comment period closed on March 9, the Study
Group had received nearly three dozen comments
from representatives of universities, libraries,
museums, and policy organizations, as well as the
publishing, entertainment, and software industries.
As an information professional at one of the largest
providers of digital distance education in the world
with more than 88,000 students in 98 bachelor’s and
master’s degree programs and certificates online, I
believe I should respond as a credible stakeholder in
the issues that are on the table. It was my privilege to
submit comments to the Study Group, and I trust that
these comments will be instructive not only to the
Section 108 Study Group but also to you and to many
others in the higher education community. Thank you.
Regards,
Kimberly B. Kelley
Vice Provost and Dean, Academic Resources and
Services, UMUC
Read Dr. Kelley's comments...
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The FAIR USE Act
Up on the Hill with Ken Salomon
With this issue of News & Notes, the CIP is
pleased to announce that Attorney Kenneth
Salomon will be
the CIP's "Capitol Hill Correspondent" and a regular
contributor for Up On the Hill.
 Mr.
Salomon is a
Member with Dow Lohnes, PLLC, and is head of the
firm's Government Relations Practice Group. He
works with clients in the areas of government
relations and public policy, as well as on issues
involving commercial and public broadcasting and
distributed learning. Mr. Salomon's decades of
practice have focused on such areas as
communications, government relations and
legislation, intellectual property, mass media, and
post-secondary education. We invite you to become
further informed of activity on Capitol Hill through the
eyes and ears of Mr. Salomon.
On February 27, 2007, Representatives Boucher (D-
VA), Doolittle (R-CA) and Lofgren (D-CA) introduced
the Freedom And Innovation Revitalizing U.S.
Entrepreneurship ("FAIR USE") Act of 2007, HR 1201.
The FAIR USE Act proposes adding several
exceptions to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act
("DMCA") intended to protect the fair use rights of
consumers. This bill has importance to educators'
ability to use copyrighted digital works.
The FAIR USE Act would add six additional
exemptions, the most significant ones for educators
being (i) extending the exemption for educational
compilations to any classroom and instructor, (ii)
accessing "a work of substantial public interest" to
criticize, comment or conduct research on it, and (iii)
preserving or securing copies in a library or archive, or
to replace damaged, stolen or missing copies.
Read the Full Article...
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© Utopia...Imagine That!
In conjunction with its Annual Symposium on
Intellectual Property, the CIP is holding a
national contest for artists in all media and
formats. This contest is open to students and
professionals alike...and to anyone at all
with a creative bent.
Join artists and musicians from around the
country as they re-imagine and create a
future for copyrighted media. How do you want
your creative work to be used? What future do
you envision in the use of creative works by
scholars and community artists?
Acceptable formats for entries may include
but are not limited to:
- music OR sculptures
- poetry OR essays
- paintings OR photo montages
- film: music videos, narrative films, home
movies, uncredited performance footage (spoken
word, comedy), etc.
An Entry Form is available for
download in two formats --
PDF
or MS
Word
More information on prizes, as well as the official
contest details, guidelines, and rules may
be found on our website
HERE.
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