From Soup to Nuts (Invited Paper)

From Soup to Nuts: Copyright, Social Networking and Electronic Surveillance
Tracy Mitrano, Director of IT Policy and of Computer Policy and Law Program, Cornell University

· Copyright law and technology out of sync with current business models and social norms

· Copyright is negatively impacting e-reserve materials; people are scared/confused about provision rights so they back off providing access; even if access is behind authentication, that doesn’t automatically protect against copyright violation; must adhere to TEACH Act

· Recommends creating e-reserves fair use checklist and faculty sign-off with input into course management systems; due diligence statements

· With regard to DMCA (Digital Millennium Copyright Act) violations, if the institution is merely a conduit (student uses personal computer connected to campus network to illegally procure/share content with an independent computer elsewhere on the internet), not required to act on DMCA notices

· Infringement violations being called piracy, theft is minimizing seriousness of infringement (min. $750 fine per incident; adds up quickly)

· Settlement letters placing institutions in pinched position when asked to forward letters to student violators; some institutions (including Cornell) forward to students believing knowledge of and accountability for such violations contributes to students’ moral/ethical development

· Has intellectual property become the business model instead of the product in the entertainment arena? (settlement letters perfect example)

· Higher ed institutions are likely being targeted for ISP-identified violations because the RIAA knows that we don’t have Congressional defenders to stop settlement letters/DMCA notices, and institutions actually care about students and missions for betterment of society

While the rest of her presentation on social networking and electronic surveillance was fascinating, it has very little applicability to our library, so I'm electing not to include my notes. If you'd like to read them, however, I'll be happy to share!