COPYCENSE

As copyright has become a part of the nation’s mainstream discourse, more publications are devoting time and space to the topic. This has lead to an interesting evolution in publication and viewpoint. Where once copyright was discussed only in expensive, exclusive, and (mostly) print publications and forums, today copyright commentary is readily available in many daily newspapers and for free on several Web sites. Further, where the tone in the exclusive publications discussed copyright mostly in terms of identifying and protecting copyrights held by large corporate institutions, more recent discussions about copyright tend to emphasize either copyright’s potential as a barrier to personal creativity, or the lack of copyright as a potential threat to the national economy.

In reality, copyright really is at neither end of that spectrum. Instead, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. What I’ve decided to do this month is to introduce Online readers to some of the best resources that effectively and accurately represent that middle ground, where copyright is a delicate balance between consumer and creator.

These materials, together and individually, clearly and fairly explain to information professionals what copyright law is, how it works, and what role copyright should play in an environment that is hurtling toward wholesale adoption of content sharing, “clip culture,” and resources that are born digital.

An Online exclusive.

K. Matthew Dames. A Reading Road Trip Around Copyright: An Annotated Tour of Copyright Resources. Online. January/February 2007.

CopyCense™: Creativity & Code.™ A venture of Seso Group LLC.