Fair Use Synchronicity

Some days, it just works like this: in the last 24 hours, two interesting pieces on what constitutes fair use have crossed my desktop.

Andy Havens, that inexhaustible fountain of interesting online information, shot me this web site from the Center for Social Media at American University. The Center has developed a Code of Best Practices in Fair Use, which they intend to "help...creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use." (I hope that this direct lift from their site is within the bounds of fair use. If not, just address the consent decree directly to me, and I'll sign...) There is also a wonderful short video on their site that points up the thorniness of this conundrum.

On the other end of the spectrum, there is a long but intriguing PowerPoint presentation called "Disruptive Scholarship: An Idea Whose Time Has Come | Re(Use) / Re(Mix) / Re(New)" from Gerry McKiernan, an Associate Professor and Science and Technology Librarian at Iowa State University Library. McKiernan states in a cover e-mail, "In this presentation, we will review the Read/Write Traditions of the Arts, Humanities, and Sciences; analyze key Past / Present / Future Participatory Technologies; and explore the potential of Web 2.0 for creating/fostering Disruptive Learning / Scholarship / Teaching in the 21st century." A slightly different version of this presentation was offered at the 3rd International Plagiarism Conference in the UK last month.