Colleges and universities are facing increasing pressure in Washington over student use of their information technology systems for peer-to-peer file sharing. The Recording Industry Association of America and the Motion Picture Association of America are vigorously pressing Congress to address what they view as wide spread and wholesale piracy of their content by students over campus networks. What's different this time from past RIAA and MPAA efforts is the existence of broader legislative vehicles to carry the requirements that they want to see imposed on higher education institutions. This Congress seems more determined than the last to finally pass reauthorization of the Higher Education Act that provides authorization for the federal government's various student financial aid programs. Only a last minute scramble led by Educause, the Association of American Universities and other organizations in July staved off Senate adoption of an amendment to Senate's Higher Education Act reauthorization bill that would have imposed significant new costs and responsibilities on colleges and universities participating in the various federal student aid programs, including the installation of expensive, but likely ineffective, anti-piracy hardware.

Since 1999, the CIP has offered an annual asynchronous online workshop series designed to meet the needs of information professionals, librarians, faculty, university counsel, and instructional designers.

We are pleased to announce that the 2007-2008 series has arrived!

As in previous years, each workshop in this year's series of online workshops provides participants with an understanding of select intellectual property issues facing higher education in today's rapidly changing digital environment.

The lineup this year includes four workshops led by scholars and practitioners who have studied the issues and trends and who are able to ask thoughtful questions and to offer candid perspectives and helpful insights.

Be sure to visit the workshop website for details on each workshop's content and objectives as well as for more information on the qualifications and expertise of our moderators.

The CIP has been in the blogosphere since early this year, and during the past several months we have enjoyed posts by our resident blogger, Georgia Harper, and a handful of guests whom she has invited to join her in observing and questioning, reading and thinking about current events, ideas, and trends in the arena of copyright.

Recent postings have included:

The CIP is pleased to announce the winners of its first contest.

In conjunction with our 2007 symposium, we wanted to know what individual producers of creative content envisioned a perfect copyright future might look...or sound...like. We asked artists and musicians from around the country to re-imagine and share their future for copyrighted media. "How would they want their creative works to be used? What future do they envision in the use of creative works by scholars and community artists? ..." We were interested in how music, poetry, videos/films, essays, paintings, sculptures, photographic images--or any other media format--might be employed to help us think about our theme of copyright utopia.

The winners of the contest are: Elaine Whelan and Ellen Schwartz and Roger Bruno.

Their winning entry -- Voice of Creativity -- was a collaborative effort, with Elaine writing the lyrics and Ellen and Roger composing and performing the music.

It is with great pride (and some sadness) that I say farewell to the Center for Intellectual Property (CIP) as I leave the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) and transition to a new position as Dean and Professor, School of Library and Information Science (SLIS) at the Catholic University of America. I have watched the CIP evolve from its humble beginnings, with just one staff member, me, to a thriving, robust, nationally recognized Center providing a wealth of information, educational materials, and thoughtful commentary on the digital world, intellectual property and the academy.

At the time of its creation, all the "signs" indicated that intellectual property would have a fundamental impact on the future of higher education. As a distance educator, I was impacted by the rules of copyright on a daily basis. As a librarian, I was constantly bombarded with concerns from faculty, students and librarians. I noted how the rules were changing and the players were becoming more diverse and polarized. Further, our understanding of the analog world no longer applied. As information rapidly became digital, and new forms of communication became increasingly popular, the need for a Center to explore the digital future and the impact on higher education was right. And so, the Center was born.

What concerned me most? Peer-to-Peer File Sharing and Fair Use.

I have noted with interest that few issues are of greater interest or concern within the academic community we serve than the future of fair use and the issues associated with peer-to-peer file sharing.

A New Season

In August 2007 Dr. Kimberly B. Kelley, founder of the Center for Intellectual Property, said farewell to UMUC and assumed a new position at The Catholic University of America as the Dean of the School of Library and Information Science, where she will continue to exercise her rare talents and incredible capacity for visionary leadership. We, her colleagues at the CIP, will miss her.

This article has been taken, in part, from remarks given to the UMUC community at Dr. Kelley's farewell reception on July 20, 2007.

I first met Dr. Kim Kelley on July 11, 2000, when I interviewed for the Director position of the Center for Intellectual Property. What Kim does not know is that I almost did not show up for the interview. At the time, I was working at a large IP/antitrust law firm in DC. I was disillusioned and burnt out. I wanted to try something new...but the Center was an "out of the box" venture. I did not think I was ready, but Kim saw something in me that I did not see in myself. Kim saw a leader.

If the test of real leaders is the ability to identify, mold and develop other leaders who willingly follow them, then Kim Kelley is a great leader. As I have said on many occasions, Kim is a leader's leader--she has incredible vision, anticipates change, welcomes innovation, and she openly invites critical thinking and diverse opinions. Kim is confident enough in her own abilities not to be intimidated by other talented people. I have clerked for federal judges and worked with some of the best and brightest legal minds. Very few have Kim's abilities. She has the analytical ability to creatively solve problems, the ability to motivate, inspire, and mentor.

The Center for Intellectual Property illustrates Kim's incredible capacity for visionary leadership.

Nearly 150 individuals gathered May 21-23 for the CIP's seventh annual intellectual property symposium, the theme of which was Copyright Utopia: Alternative Visions, Methods and Policies.