"COPYRIGHT IN THE DIGITAL AGE" SESSION REMINDER - Plan now to
register for "Copyright in the Digital Age: Challenges Facing the Academy,"April 3-4,
2003 in Greenbelt Marriott, Maryland (Washington, DC Metro Area.) Higher education
institutions are facing an increasing number of issues in an attempt to comply with
copyright law and also maintain an atmosphere that promotes learning and academic
freedom. Seminar participants, panelists, and presenters will explore in-depth some of the
most pressing issues facing intellectual property policy and higher education today. These
issues include the:
- application of the TEACH Act and compliance issues for higher education
- rise in demands for universities to crackdown on using university networks for
person-to-person file sharing
- development of alternatives to scholarly publishing models to expand the public
domain
- impact of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) on academic freedom
- impact of recently proposed IP legislation on the higher education community
For more information about speakers and the seminar agenda review:
Speakers: http://www.umuc.edu/odell/cip/seminar/speakers.html
Agenda: http://www.umuc.edu/odell/cip/seminar/agenda.html
Register online or call: 1-800-283-6832, Extension 7777. (UMUC)

COPYRIGHT ENFORCEMENT HEATS UP ON CAMPUS - Universal Studios has
stepped up efforts to control copyright infringement by sending an unspecified number
of complaints to colleges and universities across the country. On Friday, the UW-
Madison received complaints about 127 computers on its campus, and the U of
Maryland at College Park received 155. Rodney J. Petersen of the U of Maryland
said his institution receives about two or three notices on an average day. Officials
from both universities said the notices represent an enormous amount of work; a
representative of the UW said that by the end of the day his institution had only
tracked and contacted 12 of the 127 violators identified in the complaints. The
flurry of notices has so far not been repeated, but university administrators see the
need to have policies and procedures in place to deal with the potentially large
number of complaints that could come from other studios. The problem of movie
piracy may become as significant as that of music piracy, according to one university
official. For complete information see:
http://chronicle.com/daily/2003/03/2003030501t.htm (Chronicle of Higher Education,
5 Mar 03 - Edupage 5 Mar 03)

EXPERTS FIND FAULT WITH CURRENT COPYRIGHT LEGISLATION - Experts
speaking at a U of California at Berkeley conference were in general agreement that
copyright law is currently being applied inappropriately. The event featured speakers
from a range of companies and institutions, representing a variety of perspectives on the
issue of copyright. Most speakers faulted the DMCA and its application, saying the
interests of the majority of persons involved are not being served. Notable DMCA
opponents Larry Lessig and Edward Felten spoke out against the current state of
copyright enforcement. Alex Alben stated that "What is happening is not what we
intended when we created the DMCA." Go to:
http://news.com.com/2100-1023-990689.html (CNET, 1 Mar 03)

A NEW APPROACH TO COPYRIGHT - A new approach to copyright was recently
offered by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) He suggested that the answer to ongoing
wrangling over copyright is a policy of full disclosure, with content producers required to
explain clearly to consumers how and under what conditions a copyrighted work can be
used or copied. Users could then easily decide whether they would buy it. Wyden said
his approach is a market-based one. Although the government would have to specify and
enforce provisions of disclosure, market forces could compel media companies to retain
consumers. Wyden argued that the current influence of media companies on Congress
will prevent any legislative alteration of copyright law from passing any time soon. For
the full article see: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/5298641.htm
(San Jose Mercury News, 2 Mar 03)