American University Launches Copyright and Fair Use in Participatory Media Project

American University Launches Copyright and Fair Use in Participatory Media Project



Project by Center for Social Media and the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property
will explore best practices for fair use in online video

Contact: Maggie Barrett, AU Media Relations, barrett@american.edu [1] or 202-885-5950

WASHINGTON, D.C.(Aug. 2, 2007)– American University’s Center for Social Media (CSM) andthe Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) today launched the "Copyright and Fair Use in Participatory Media" project, which will promote standards for the use of copyrighted materials in user-generated media that are broadcast over the internet.

The project will be conducted in three stages:

• A study of how makers of online video currently use copyrighted materials. The study will be headed by CSM Research Fellow Neil Seiling, a media arts curator, television producer, and
media systems architect. Examples of today’s practices are showcased in the short video "Remix Culture: The Early Years" (http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/videos/remix_culture/ [2]).



• Collaborative work with online video providers to provide best-practices information on copyright and fair use on their sites. Revver.com provides an excellent example, in
showcasing the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use on its copyright page (http://one.revver.com/go/copyright [3]).



• A stakeholder meeting on developing best-practices for user-generated content and participatory media, building on CSM and PIJIP’s groundbreaking convening, "Unauthorized"
(http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/resources/publications/unauthorized/ [4]).



School of Communication Professor Pat Aufderheide, director of the Center for Social Media, and Washington College of Law Professor Peter Jaszi, director of the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property will lead the project. The two previously coordinated the production of the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, which has had a profound effect on industry practice.



"Today, nonprofessional, online video accounts for a sizeable portion of all broadband traffic, with much of the work incorporating copyrighted material," said Jaszi "Both freedom of expression and copyright owners’ need to limit wholesale redistribution of their content online should be honored, as we develop new creative practices."



The project is being funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation, provided to the Center for Social Media to explore the future of public media.



About American University’s Center for Social Media [5]

American University’s Center for Social Media showcases and analyzes strategies to use media as creative tools for public knowledge and action. It focuses on social documentaries for civil society and democracy, and on the public media environment that supports them. The Center is part of the AU’s School of Communication, a laboratory for professional education, communication research and innovative production across the fields of journalism, film and media arts, and public communication.



About American University’s Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property

Through research, scholarship, public events, advocacy, and provision of legal and consulting services, the Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property (PIJIP) promotes public interest approaches in the law governing information protection and dissemination. This study was supported by PIJIP’s Fair Use and Public Media project, which works to explain and promote interpretations of copyright, communications and other laws that protect and facilitate the growth of media that helps the public come into being through the recognition of common social problems.



About American University

American University is a leader in global education, enrolling a diverse student body from throughout the U.S. and nearly 150 countries. Located in Washington, D.C., the university provides opportunities for academic excellence, public service and internships in thenation’s capital and around the world. www.american.edu [6]


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Contact: Maggie Barrett
Date: 08/02/2007
Phone: 202-885-5950
Release Category: School of Communication News
E-mail the Contact Person:
barrett@american.edu [7]