UC DLFx 2018: Beyond Copyright: The Where, What, Why, and When of the Public Domain

The public domain is made of works that never received copyright protection, works for which copyright protection has lapsed, and items that fall outside copyright’s scope altogether. Given how copyright protection can limit digital library activity, understanding where copyright does not apply, or where it no longer applies, can be profoundly enabling.

This half-day workshop will cover:

• The basics of copyright scope. Where does non-copyrightable subject matter find itself in library collections? How does copyright apply to data and metadata?
• The basics of public domain determinations. When and how does copyright lapse? How can we make copyright determinations and how confident can we be about any given public domain determinations we make?
• Public domain determinations at scale. What can be done? What is the Copyright Review Management System? What are its advantages and weaknesses?
• Operationalizing public domain determinations. How can we take what we know about the public domain status of works in digital collections and put it use?

Presenter: Michael Wolfe (UCD)