Berkeley Law Samuelson Clinic students represent library groups before leading international intellectual property organizations.
Students at Berkeley Law’s Samuelson Law, Technology, and Public Policy Clinic, working on behalf of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Association of Research Libraries (ARL), developed advocacy materials to demonstrate how the flexibility of the fair use doctrine in United States (U.S.) copyright law helps U.S. libraries fulfill their public missions and to offer suggestions for how other countries might benefit from including flexible limitations and exceptions, in conjunction with purpose-specific exceptions.
Students Libby Hadzima and Alexandra Wood presented these materials to the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights (SCCR) in Geneva, Switzerland, November 19-23, 2012, and the Global Congress on Intellectual Property and the Public Interest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, December 15-17 2012. The students also produced a white paper that included case studies of how libraries apply fair use to perform their key functions, adapt quickly to changing circumstances such as new technologies, and provide the public with greater access to information. Students presented this white paper along with their advocacy materials during the Flexible Limitations & Exceptions Workshop at the Global Congress in Brazil. These materials are linked below.
Library Flex L&E 1 Page Handout
Library Flex L&E 5 Page Handout
Library Flex L&E 5 Page Handout (Portuguese)