Copyright Week is here! If you think fair use, the public domain, the right of first sale, and open access are the bee’s knees, congratulations – you’re on your way to the rank of copyright activist. Join up with activist veteran EFF for a week of discussion on key principles to guide copyright policy.

Not sure why you should care? Keep your ear to the ground this week and learn a thing or two about current copyright issues. You just might be a copyright convert by week’s end. For starters:

It’s no longer the case that copyright is only a concern if you run the kind of company that has its own theme parks. Instead, copyright policy can have an effect on any user posting to her favorite sites, sharing videos she’s captured or photos she’s taken. It can affect your basic freedom to tinker, make, and repair your stuff. – Copyright Week: Taking Copyright Back by the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)

So if you have something to say, ponder, or posit, dust off your soapbox and speak out for copyright on your choice of social media (hashtag #copyrightweek) or engage in spirited discussion with whoever’s handy about the future of copyright (hint: classmates, coworkers, friends, neighbors, and telemarketers are all worthy targets).

You won’t be alone. Look for our tweets (@OSUCopyright) all week long on a range of copyright issues– topics for each day are listed below. Happy Copyright Week!

Copyright Week: January 13-18

Monday Jan 13 – Transparency
Copyright policy must be set through a participatory, democratic and transparent process. It should never be decided through back room deals or secret international agreements.

Tuesday Jan 14 – Building and Defending a Robust Public Domain
The public domain is our cultural commons and a public trust. Copyright policy should seek to promote, and never diminish, this crucial resource.

Wednesday Jan 15 – Open Access
The results of publicly funded research should be made freely available to the public online, to be fully used by anyone, anywhere, anytime.

Thursday Jan 16 – You Bought it, You Own It
Copyright policy should foster the freedom to truly own your stuff: to tinker with it, repair it, reuse it, recycle it, read or watch or launch it on any device, lend it, and then give it away (or re-sell it) when you’re done.

Friday Jan 17 – Fair Use Rights
For copyright to achieve its purpose of encouraging creativity and innovation, it must preserve and promote ample breathing space for unexpected and innovative uses.

Saturday Jan 18 – Getting Copyright Right
A free and open Internet is essential infrastructure, fostering speech, activism, new creativity and new business models for artists, authors, musicians and other creators. It must never be sacrificed in the name of copyright enforcement.

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By Jessica Meindertsma, Rights Management Specialist at the Copyright Resources Center, The Ohio State University Libraries