In December 2017, Authors Alliance submitted comments to the U.S. Copyright Office in support of a modified exemption to Section 1201 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for multimedia e-books. The proposed modification would broaden the application of the current exemption (which allows for lawful circumvention of digital rights management technologies in non-fiction works […]
What effect does fair use have on incentives to create? For some academic authors, there is growing evidence that fair use will not diminish, and may even enhance, their incentives to create and distribute scholarly works because it promotes their goals of advancing the progress of knowledge, builds reputational capital, and increases the impact of […]
Fair use has always been a key issue for Authors Alliance. When we launched in 2014, we created a Fair Use FAQ to help authors navigate this complex topic. Now, to celebrate Fair Use Week and our recently published guide to Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors, we’ve expanded and updated the FAQ to provide a […]
The principles of copyright law sometimes have a way of appearing in unexpected places. Recently we featured an article by Christopher Sprigman that examines assumptions about copyright as a spur to creativity by considering examples as diverse as Italian opera and Bollywood movies. Today, as part of Fair Use Week, we are highlighting new research […]
In celebration of Fair Use Week, we are pleased to announce the print release of our guide to Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors. This past fall, we published the guide as a digital file under a Creative Commons license with the goal of putting it in reach of anyone who might need it. You can […]
Last week we outlined the benefits of registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office. If you missed it, start here to learn why registration is an advantageous practice for authors. In the second half of this two-part series, we explain how to register your works with the U.S. Copyright Office. Copyright registration is a […]
Under today’s copyright laws, copyright protection for original, creative works is automatic from the moment the work is “fixed in a tangible medium” (e.g., as soon as the author puts pen to paper, paintbrush to canvas, or saves a computer file). Although authors do not need to register their works in order to enjoy the […]
On Tuesday, February 13, Brianna Schofield of Authors Alliance will team up with Robert Kirk Walker of the Samuelson Clinic at the UC Berkeley School of Law to present a workshop on fair use with California Lawyers for the Arts. The workshop, “Demystifying Fair Use: A Crash Course For Authors” will provide an overview of […]
David G. Ullman is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering Design at Oregon State University and an expert on product design and decision-making best practices. After securing a reversion of rights, Ullman published the sixth edition of The Mechanical Design Process, a leading text used to teach mechanical engineers the processes of product design. We asked […]
The first day of Copyright Week is dedicated to the public domain and creativity. It’s an opportunity to reflect on the most recent Public Domain Day, which took place on January 1. On that date, a host of works entered the public domain in Canada, New Zealand, and Europe, as detailed here. But due to […]
