COPYCENSE

K. Matthew Dames, executive editor of SNTReport.com, is presenting a talk in Washington, DC on Wednesday entitled "Licensing in the Digital Age." The talk will review the key terms and conditions of modern licenses and discuss how the trend toward licensing threatens the viability of federal copyright law. Today’s presentation is part of a brown bag lecture series on information law and policy issues that Dames is moderating throughout the winter and early spring of 2005.

Series Description: Once a legal backwater that interested only specialists, information law issues are now considered central to the nation�s communications, legal and economic infrastructure. While information law is more important than ever, information professionals often lack the necessary knowledge and tools to navigate the thicket of laws, regulations, treaties and policies.

This brown bag luncheon series will address some of the most important legal and policy issues that information professionals face today. Sponsored by the DC Chapter of SLA, National Capitol Chapter (NCC) of AIIM, the Washington DC Chapter of SCIP, Northern Virginia Chapter of ARMA, Federal Law Librarians� SIS, Adobe Systems Inc., and STG International, this series will identify information professionals� responsibilities, providing a forum for discussing and resolving some of the profession�s most important issues, sharing resources for further research and problem-solving.

The sessions will be moderated by K. Matthew Dames, JD, MLS, an information policy expert who teaches information law at Syracuse University�s School of Information Studies. A comprehensive set of handouts will be created for each topic and posted to the DC/SLA website and SNTReport.com.

Schedule: Join us on the second Wednesday of each month, January through April 2005, as we explore copyright, fair use, licensing digital resources, digital rights management, and open access.

Session 2, February 9, 2005: Licensing Digital Resources
As more of the world�s information is created or accessed through digital means, licensing agreements take over where copyright leaves off. Therefore, it is essential to know the basics of licensing. During this second session, we will discuss the licensing agreement, including:
– What to consider before entering a license agreement;
– Basic contract law and important licensing clauses and terms, including terms of access and termination;
– Licensing�s affect on copyright law.

Session 3, March 9, 2005: Digital Rights Management
With the increase in digital information comes the increase in measures to protect it. Some of the protections, however, may take away your rights under existing law. During this session, we will discuss the importance of digital rights management (DRM), including:
– What is Digital Rights Management and how does it relate to copyright law, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act?
– The technology of DRM: Selected tools for authentication, authority, access, and accountability; and
– What are the costs associated with rights management?

Session 4, April 13, 2005: Open Access
The recent consolidation of the publishing industry has been a large factor in the price rise of scholarly resources, and has hurt the ability of libraries and information centers to provide users with essential information. The fourth and final brown bag session will discuss the open access crisis, including:
– A review of key mergers and acquisitions;
– The role of licensing and DRM in open access issues;
– Local control over scholarly and self-publishing: Open archives initiatives (e.g., eprints, eScholarship Repository, LOCKSS);
– Responses by the information profession, including the Information Access Alliance.

Site & Registration Details:The brown-bags will begin promptly at 12 noon (12:00 pm � 2:00 pm) at the AeA David Packard Conference Center, 601 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, North Bldg – Suite 600 (Metro: Archives/Navy Memorial) in Washington, DC. Space is limited, so register early at the AIIM National Capitol Chapter website, or contact series organizer Barbie Keiser.