CopyrightX: Libraries is a copyright education course hosted by UIPO every spring which is open to library, archives, and museum staff everywhere. It is an affiliate course of Harvard’s CopyrightX. Participants will learn the essentials of U.S. copyright law, theory, and practice with an emphasis on issues relevant to cultural institutions, alongside a cohort of professional colleagues. It is an entirely online 13-week course comprising pre-recorded lectures, readings, and weekly seminars. It is free of charge.
What sort of time commitment should I expect?
The class runs for 13 weeks. Each week, participants will watch an ~90-minute recorded lecture, read the assigned material, complete asynchronous assignments, and attend a 90-minute synchronous seminar conducted via audio and text chat. The average total time commitment over the 13-week course is ~ 5 hours/week. After the 13-week course there is an intensive law-school style exam. To obtain a certificate of completion, participants must both pass the exam and meet participation requirements.
Who will be in the class?
Participants will be library, archives, and museum staff from anywhere in the world who choose to apply. The aim is to get a diverse group of people from a wide range of backgrounds who share an interest in copyright as it applies to cultural institutions. Several seats are reserved for qualified applicants from the instructors' home institutions. Alumni of the course and UIPO members can also recommend applicants, which influences, but does not guarantee, acceptance.
When will it be?
The course is offered every spring between late January and early May. Synchronous online seminar meet in one of several timeslots. The final exam for the course will be administered usually in early or mid-May.
Please check the time of the section in your local time zone. You cannot pass the course without attending the online seminars.
How can I apply?
The application for CopyrightX: Libraries becomes available in late November each year, and must be completed by mid December. If you would like to receive a notification when the application becomes available, please add your email address through this form.
Please note that the CopyrightX: Libraries application is entirely separate from the application administered by Harvard. If you want to take CopyrightX with fellow library, archives, and museum staff, you should apply to CopyrightX: Libraries.
I’m an alumni of the course, how can I recommend someone?
If you are an alumni of the course or a UIPO member, you are eligible to recommend someone for the course. A recommendation influences, but does not guarantee, a place in the course. If you are eligible to be a recommender, you will receive an email with a link to the recommendation form in late fall to the email address we have on file (if you are an alum and need to update your email address with us, please contact copyxlibraries[at]uipo.org).
Can I see the syllabus?
Of course. The syllabus for the current year’s course usually becomes available in January. Previous year’s syllabi are listed below:
Who are the CopyrightX: Libraries instructors?
Katie Zimmerman, Director of Copyright Strategy at the MIT Libraries
Ana Enriquez, Copyright Officer and Head of the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright at the Penn State University Libraries
Matthew Kopel, Director of Scholarly Communication and Information Policy at the Princeton University Library
Other questions?
If you have questions about the course, you can email the instructors at copyxlibraries[at]uipo.org.