To kick off the 11th annual Fair Use Week, ARL was delighted to host a webinar featuring George Thuronyi, deputy director of the Office of Public Information and Education (PIE) at the United States Copyright Office. During his presentation Thuronyi described the four factors of a fair use analysis as required by Section 107 of the US Copyright Act, and explained how the factors are considered by courts in considering what uses are fair. Through a series of questions to the audience, Thuronyi reviewed the basics of copyright registration and protection, what it means for works to be in the public domain, and trivia (do you know the name and author of the first work registered under federal copyright law?).
Thuronyi also shared resources that are available on copyright.gov, including the US Copyright Office Fair Use Index, which tracks fair use cases back to 1841. The index provides information on fair use cases in all jurisdictions, including the facts of the case, the legal issue, and the outcome of the case.
During a brief discussion following the presentation, Thuronyi referenced the office’s forthcoming report on its initiative to examine questions at the intersection of copyright and AI. The office received 10,000 comments in response to its notice of inquiry (including comments by the Library Copyright Alliance).
View a recording of the webinar—and test your knowledge of fair use trivia!