World's Fair Use Day

Announcing WFUD 2012!

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 16:58:10 -0400

Save the date! WFUD returns on May 4, 2012.

Stay tuned for more information.

FYI: Here is how WFUD 2011 attendees self-identified, based on...

Thu, 10 Feb 2011 17:49:00 -0500

FYI: Here is how WFUD 2011 attendees self-identified, based on the choices available on our RSVP form. As tends to be the case here in Washington, the wonks walked away victorious.

WFUD 2011 | I Did it for the Lulz: Fair Use and Internet Humor

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 17:40:36 -0500

WFUD 2011 | I Did it for the Lulz: Fair Use and Internet Humor

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: DJ /rupture

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 17:31:26 -0500

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: DJ /rupture

WFUD 2011 | This is the Remix: Fair Use in Hip-Hop Culture

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 13:49:53 -0500

WFUD 2011 | This is the Remix: Fair Use in Hip-Hop Culture

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: Aram Sinnreich, Rutgers University

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:42:43 -0500

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: Aram Sinnreich, Rutgers University

WFUD 2011 | Katz Rules Everything Around Me: Visual Art and Fair...

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 16:14:08 -0500

WFUD 2011 | Katz Rules Everything Around Me: Visual Art and Fair Use

WFUD 2011 | Playing Fair: Remix in the Gaming Community

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:19:06 -0500

WFUD 2011 | Playing Fair: Remix in the Gaming Community

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: Maria Pallante, Acting Register of...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:49:34 -0500

WFUD 2011 | Keynote: Maria Pallante, Acting Register of Copyrights

World’s Fair Use Day 2011 | Introduction | Gigi B. Sohn,...

Tue, 01 Feb 2011 17:48:22 -0500

World’s Fair Use Day 2011 | Introduction | Gigi B. Sohn, President, Public Knowledge

Here are a few photos highlighting our amazing panelists and...

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:58:31 -0500

Here are a few photos highlighting our amazing panelists and speakers who came to DC to celebrate creativity, fair use, and remix culture. For those who came to the conference or watched the livestream, we hope that the second annual World’s Fair Use Day was as educational as it was entertaining.

Too see more, here’s the public link to the Facebook photo album.

World's Fair Use Day is Tomorrow!

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 17:10:17 -0500

World’s Fair Use Day 2011 kicks off tomorrow starting at 9:30am (doors open at 9am)! If you’re attending the event in person, click over to the schedule and location pages for logistical information and be sure to RSVP if you haven’t already. If you can’t make it to D.C. for the event, click here for the livestream (starts at 9:45am tomorrow) and here to download the official WFUD program (PDF). And whether you’re attending in person or following along at home, be sure to contribute to the Twitter backchannel at #WFUD. See you all tomorrow!

Stop the presses! We’re announcing one final panelist for...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:07:44 -0500

Stop the presses! We’re announcing one final panelist for World’s Fair Use Day: the one, the only, Kenyatta Cheese. If you know a thing or two about Internet memes and web culture, you’ve likely seen “Know Your Meme,” the groundbreaking meme database that he co-created and hosted; if you don’t, you’re about to get taken to school.

Kenyatta Cheese researches and fosters media culture and technology. He is probably best known for co-creating the web series and internet meme database Know Your Meme, often cited as the go to resource for understanding web culture. Kenyatta is often called upon to comment on the state and meaning of internet culture by the likes of NPR, MSNBC, The New York Times, and the parents of close friends. In previous iterations he has worked with the Eyebeam Center for Art and Technology, Manhattan Neighborhood Network, and the online television network Rocketboom.

(Kenyatta Cheese photo by Diana Levine)

We’re very excited to announce our third keynote speaker:...

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:47:06 -0500

We’re very excited to announce our third keynote speaker: Maria Pallante, Acting Register of Copyrights at the Library of Congress. In her role as the Acting Register of Copyrights, Maria oversees the registration, policy and other functions of the Copyright Office. In addition to her expertise in copyright law, Maria has a background in writing and visual art, having worked at the Guggenheim Museums and the Authors Guild prior to joining the Library of Congress.

Maria Pallante was appointed Acting Register of Copyrights for the United States effective January 1, 2011. She will serve on an interim basis until the next Register is named and assumes the duties of the position.

Maria is on leave from the Office of the Librarian of Congress, where she has served as Senior Advisor to the Librarian since October 2010. She previously held two senior positions in the U.S. Copyright Office, serving as Associate Register (policy and international affairs) and Deputy General Counsel, respectively, from January 2007 to October 2010.

From 1999-2007, Maria was intellectual property counsel and director of licensing for the worldwide Guggenheim Museums, where she advised on programmatic and business initiatives related to worldwide publishing, product development and branding; the acquisition and exhibition of contemporary art; and the operation of overseas affiliates and licensees. Earlier in her career, she was in private practice in Washington, DC and on the staff of two authors’ organizations in New York, serving first as Assistant Director of the Authors Guild, Inc. and then as Executive Director of the National Writers Union, in each case working on copyright, publishing transactions and freedom of expression issues.

Maria has chaired and served on numerous professional committees, has testified before Congress, and delivered numerous lectures and presentations in the United States and abroad.

We’re pleased to announce a last-minute addition to our...

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 12:44:00 -0500

We’re pleased to announce a last-minute addition to our panel on visual art: Dan Lynch of Negativland. In addition to producing artwork for the pioneering audio collage band, Lynch has distinguished himself as a visual artist whose works blur the lines between digital reappropriation and analog creation. At World’s Fair Use Day we’ll be showing Dan’s latest piece, “The Volcano Society,” which uses images culled from Google Image Search to produce four large collages that masquerade as paintings.

Dan began to take art seriously in 1970 when he won second place the American Automobile Association’s traffic safety poster contest in second grade. Upon winning a $75 savings bond, he knew that he wanted to pursue art.

Dan studied architectural design at the California College of Arts and Crafts. Thereafter, he worked in architecture and became immersed in the arcane computer graphics programs of the 1980s that were used within the profession. He eventually put architecture aside and has been an art director since 1991.

Dan is an avid photographer, but sees it as a means to an end. Before digital image editing, he would manipulate his photos any way he could. His work consists of digital montages and paintings that are printed on canvas, which are further painted to completion.

Dan believes that creative work is taken from borrowings that are changed—whether they spring out of one’s mind with brush in hand, are captured behind the lens, or come from Google Image Search. He believes it is the rearrangement and presentation of the world as we find it that creates new art.

Dan has been a satellite member of Negativland since 1993. He has collaborated with them on the visual side of their work, including book cover art, package design, illustration, photography and creative brainstorming.

We’re excited to announce our second of three keynote...

Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:41:00 -0500

We’re excited to announce our second of three keynote speakers: academic, musician and cultural scholar Aram Sinnreich. During his keynote, Aram will provide an introduction to his recent book, Mashed Up: Music, Technology and the Rise of Configurable Culture, which “chronicles the rise of ‘configurability,’ an emerging musical and cultural moment rooted in today’s global, networked communications infrastructure”.

Aram Sinnreich is an assistant professor at Rutgers University’s School of Communication and Information, and the author of the recent book Mashed Up: Music, Technology and the Rise of Configurable Culture. He has written about music and technology for The New York Times, Billboard, and Wired, has testified as an expert witness in several cases including the Supreme Court file sharing suit MGM vs. Grokster, and has offered his expertise as an analyst and consultant to hundreds of companies, from major labels to fledgling startups, since 1997. He is also a working musician, playing bass and composing with bands and artists including Brave New Girl, Agent 99, and the late, great Ari-Up.

We’re very excited to announce the first of three keynote...

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 14:25:00 -0500

We’re very excited to announce the first of three keynote speakers: Jace Clayton a.k.a. DJ /rupture. In addition to being a critically-acclaimed DJ with a number of classic mixtapes, albums and collaborations under his belt, Clayton is a renowned blogger, writer and public speaker. During his WFUD keynote, Clayton will use his infamous three turntable setup to demonstrate how samples can be transformed into exciting new works using traditional DJ skills.

Jace Clayton is an interdisciplinary artist living in Brooklyn. His interests include music, technology usage in low-income communities, and public space, with an emphasis on Latin America, Africa, and the Arab world. Performing as DJ /rupture, Clayton has toured internationally, DJ’ed in a band with Norah Jones, done two John Peel Sessions, and was turntable soloist with the 80-member Barcelona Symphony Orchestra. Recent collaborators include guitarist Andy Moor (The Ex) and filmmaker Jem Cohen. He has lectured at Harvard University and other cultural/educational institutions in Europe and South America. Clayton’s essays have appeared in The Washington Post, Abitare, and n+1, and he contributes regularly to Frieze and The Fader. He maintains a blog, Mudd Up!, and hosts a weekly radio show on WFMU, which is re-broadcast on several European stations.

Photo by Rocio Rodriguez Salceda.

Good news: you can has cheezburger. World’s Fair Use Day...

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:56:54 -0500

Good news: you can has cheezburger. World’s Fair Use Day is thrilled to announce that we’re teaming up with our friends at the Cheezburger Network for a happy hour/fan meetup of epic proportions! From 5pm to 7pm, World’s Fair Use Day attendees and panelists will have a chance to mix and mingle with Cheezburger Network fans at the Washington Post Conference Center. There will be free cheezburgers! And beer! And giveaways from the LOLMart.com store! Cheezburger Network founder and CEO Ben Huh will also be on hand to sign books/cheeseburgers/~~cats~~/etc. and we’ll have a few interactive art exhibits for you to play with. Best of all, admission to the happy hour is free with your World’s Fair Use Day RSVP. Click here to register—spots are filling up fast!

For the second year in a row, we’ve been lucky enough to...

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 15:41:32 -0500

For the second year in a row, we’ve been lucky enough to have beloved comic artist and children’s book author Neil Numberman design our official World’s Fair Use Day poster! That’s the poster you see above, jam-packed with allusions to popular cartoon characters and famous works of art. Click here to pre-order your poster now—if you’re attending the event, simply pick your poster up on the 13th and save on shipping!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Lauren Cornell has had to cancel and will...

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:15:00 -0500

UPDATE: Unfortunately, Lauren Cornell has had to cancel and will NOT be appearing at World’s Fair Use Day. We apologize for any inconvenience that this might cause.

Rounding out our panel on visual art will be Lauren Cornell, Executive Director of Rhizome and Adjunct Curator at the New Museum in New York City. Cornell recently curated an exhibition entitled “Free,” which “explores how the internet has fundamentally changed our landscape of information and our notion of public space”. The New York Times described “Free” as “an exercise in open-source curating,” featuring pieces that communicate “[a]n intense desire for communal experience”.

In her joint position as Executive Director of Rhizome and Adjunct
Curator at the New Museum, Cornell tracks developments in contemporary art and emerging technology. She oversees and develops Rhizome’s programs, all of which are support the creation, presentation and preservation of art engaged with technology. In April 2010, she
organized the seminal Rhizome program “Seven on Seven” which paired
seven leading artists with seven game-changing technologists in teams
of two, and challenged them to develop something new over the course
of a single day. Cornell recently curated “Free,” her first major
exhibition for the New Museum which opened at the New Museum in
October 2010. At the New Museum, she has co-curated exhibitions
including “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus”; the Museum’s
inaugural exhibition “Unmonumental”; and has also curated a solo show
of works by Young-Hae Change Heavy Industries. In addition to her
curatorial work at the New Museum, Cornell organizes the monthly New
Silent Series, featuring screenings, events and performances by
emerging artists.