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The Library of Congress National Recording Preservation Board (NRPB) has published "Protection for Pre-1972 Sound Recordings under State Law and Its Impact on Use by Nonprofit Institutions: A 10-State Analysis." The report was prepared by PIJIP Professor Peter Jaszi with the assistance of Nick Lewis.
A new report issued by American University finds that documentary filmmakers routinely grapple with ethics challenges, yet the craft lacks any sort of broad standards in ethics practices. “Now more than ever, filmmakers are faced with unprecedented pressure to lower costs and increase productivity,” said Law Professor Peter Jaszi, “These demands to do it faster and cheaper often place filmmakers in ethically challenging positions.”
Amazon came out swinging Tuesday against Google's proposed settlement with book authors and publishers. It filed a brief with the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York Tuesday which notes that it has also scanned books, but has not taken the controversial step that Google took in scanning out-of-print but copyright-protected books without explicit permission.
PIJIP faculty members work to assure that the copyright fair use doctrine remains vibrant, in both analog and digital contexts. Working closely with AU’s Center for Social Media and a number of non-profit organizations, we seek to explain and promote interpretations of copyright, communications and other laws that protect and facilitate the growth of public media. We applied our fair use initiative to documentary films, user-generated content on participatory Internet platforms, a new media format that can help the public to recognize and understand common social problems.
PIJIP’s work in this area includes developing seminal “Best Practices” guidelines for fair use by non-fiction filmmakers, supporting research on the effects of intellectual property on the practices of media makers, and organizing and convening scholarly conferences.
Copyright and International Documentary FilmPIJIP's program with the Ford Foundation and South African filmmaker organizations aims to explore (1) the problems that current interpretations of South African copyright law may pose to the development of the documentary film industry, and (2) opportunities to address those problems through changes in law or the practice of filmmakers.
Best Practices in Fair Use of Dance Related MaterialsPIJIP and the Dance Heritage Coalition have collaborated to produce a guide for librarians, archivists, curators, and other collections staff who work with dance-related materials to use the fair use doctrine where they need presumptively copyrighted materials to meet their significant cultural, educational, and other institutional mandates.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online VideoCollaboratively created by a team of media scholars and lawyers, Best Practices will allow users to make remixes, mashups, and other common online genres with the knowledge that they are staying within copyright law. The code identifies, among other things, six kinds of unlicensed uses of copyrighted material that may be considered fair, under certain limitations.
By Pat Aufderheide, Peter Jaszi, Maura Ugarte and Michael Miller
Does the Documentary Filmmaker’s Statement of Best Practices actually carry weight with broadcasters and insurance companies? What is the appropriate length of a clip to fair use? Does it matter if you are a non-profit organization vs. a commercial organization? Is fair use stealing? ...and more.
Recut, Reframe, RecycleWhen college kids make mashups of Hollywood movies, are they violating the law? Not necessarily, according to the latest study on copyright and creativity from PIJIP and the AU Center for Social Media. It shows that many uses of copyrighted material in today’s online videos are eligible for fair use consideration.
The Cost of Copyright Confusion for Media LiteracyPIJIP's report shows that the fundamental goals of media literacy education are compromised by unnecessary copyright restrictions. As a result of poor guidance, counterproductive guidelines, and fear, teachers use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit erroneous copyright information, fail to share innovative instructional approaches, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms.
The Good, the Bad, and the Confusing: User-Generated Video Creators on CopyrightIn this study, undergraduate and graduate college students who upload online video were asked to describe their practices and attitudes on using copyrighted material to make new work and on the value to them of their own copyright.
"Yes, You Can" - Where You Don't Even Need Fair UseThe answers to some of filmmakers’ most common clearance questions don’t really lie in the realm of “fair use” at all, but fall under the heading of “free use.” Some examples include buildings that can be seen from public areas, any works made by the federal goverrnment, and reproductions of public domain works in museums or private collections.
Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair UseThe Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers, Independent Feature Project, International Documentary Association, National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, and Women in Film and Video, in consultation with PIJIP and the AU Center for Social Media.
Fair Use: Its Effects on Consumers and IndustryTestimony of PIJIP Director Peter Jaszi before the Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade and Consumer Protection of the US House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, November 16 2005. The link above leads to Prof. Jaszi's written statement. To view a webcast of the hearing, click here.
In collaboration with the Center for Social Media at the AU School of Communications, this event will discuss the implications of copyright law on the growing use of platforms such as YouTube to facilitate user generated media content. Rappateurs' Report.
This conference will focus on the balance between user and owner rights and interpretations of copyright law that can usefully support the media librarian’s role as a facilitator for the public’s access to audio-visual media.
