Molly Van Houweling (Faculty Director, Berkeley Center for Law and Technology, University of California, Berkeley)
The intricacies of copyright law — once the province of publishing companies and their lawyers — are now relevant to the everyday lives of everyone with a computer and an Internet connection. Van Houweling will explore the implications of this development. What does it mean for a legal system that has long been relevant primarily to commercial publishers to impose both its burdens and benefits on millions of individuals? Especially provocative is the phenomenon of individuals as copyright owners. When we all create copyrighted works and post them online as part of our daily lives, what impact does that have on the creative and legal environment? What role should platform owners and other institutions (Facebook, YouTube, Creative Commons) have in managing this environment?
Underwritten by Joe and Angie Thompson