Copyright Office, Mason Law School Announce Academic Partnership

Professor Sandra Aistars

Professor Sandra Aistars

The United States Copyright Office and George Mason University School of Law announced last Friday that they have formed an academic partnership, working through Mason Law’s recently-launched Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, directed by Professor Sandra Aistars.

Law students at Mason Law’s Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic are collaborating with the Copyright Office in a number of ways. Working under Professor Aistars, students are examining how changes in the marketplace regarding distribution technology and other permissions may affect or support authors’ moral rights. This work will be highlighted in a joint symposium of the Copyright Office and Mason Law in the Spring of 2016, which will also enjoy the support of Mason Law’s Center for the Protection of Intellectual Property (CPIP). Students are additionally working under the expert guidance of the Copyright Office’s Public Information and Education staff to field and learn more about public inquiries received by the agency, including inquiries regarding registration and recordation.

United States Register of Copyrights Maria Pallante said: “Academic partnerships, such as the one we are announcing with George Mason Law School today, are an exciting complement to the work of the Copyright Office. We are thrilled to have the energy, interest and perspectives of these fine law students.”

Professor Sandra Aistars said: “It is an honor to be invited to collaborate with the Copyright Office in this manner. The partnership between the clinic students and the Copyright Office will both serve the needs of the Office and give students experience they will need to practice in this area of law. Moreover, students will have an unprecedented view into how the Office administers copyright law for the benefit of authors and users of works.”

Henry N. Butler, Dean of Mason Law, said: “This partnership between the Mason Arts & Entertainment Advocacy Clinic, CPIP, and the United States Copyright Office is a natural fit. The collaboration is a great example of the many opportunities Mason Law offers its students to ‘Learn, Challenge, Lead.’”

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