Spurred by the aforementioned scholarly book-recall, the Chronicle of Higher Education is holding an online colloquy on fair use and academic publishing tomorrow, July 14 at 1:00 p.m. EST. The colloquy features EFF Staff Attorney Wendy Seltzer, and you can post any comments or questions you may have right now.

Colloquy description:

Indiana University Press's withdrawal of a scholarly reader on the Anglo-American composer Rebecca Clarke is just the latest example of scholarship bowing to the assertion of copyright claims. The case law on fair use is decidedly murky, but increasingly aggressive assertions of copyright are affecting the willingness of publishers to include any material that asserts a right to "fair use" of copyrighted materials.

So just what use are "fair use" provisions in copyright law if presses lack the wherewithal to challenge copyright claimants? Do such cases create a "chilling effect" on scholarship and in academic publishing? What steps can be taken by scholars and other groups interested in copyright law to protect the shrinking arena for fair use? When, indeed, can such claims be asserted?

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