Hello Rhizomers,

The Canadian Government has published a new white paper on digital
art and copyright entitled, "Nailing Down Bits: Digital Art and
Intellectual Property". You can find the full paper in HTML or PDF
format online at:
http://www.chin.gc.ca/English/Intellectual_Property/Nailing_Down/pdf.html

A short introduction to the paper follows...

Nailing Down Bits: Digital Art and Intellectual Property

This paper on digital art and intellectual property has been
commissioned and published by Canadian Heritage Information Network
CHIN), a special operating agency of the Department of Canadian
Heritage. This paper is part of a larger series of papers on
intellectual property and cultural heritage that have been
commissioned by CHIN.

This paper is not written from a legal perspective, but from a
cultural heritage community perspective. This perspective is informed
by legal professionals and publications and by direct experience with
intellectual property issues that arise out of the daily practice of
cultural professionals. One could say that this paper is an attempt
to create a snapshot of the cultural heritage community's response to
intellectual property law and practice regarding (digital) art. This
paper is meant to ground that response not in terms of broad theories
or abstract philosophies, but in terms of daily practice and
real-world case studies. For that reason, the sources used for this
paper are not mainly books, but instead more topical, conversational,
and immediate sources such as digital art community websites, blogs,
email discussion lists and extensive interviews with cultural
heritage professionals in Canada and the United States ranging from
artists to curators to educators. The intended audience for this
paper is primarily the cultural heritage community who may benefit
from the discussion and analysis of the issues and proposed paths of
action. The legal community may also benefit from the case studies
and articulation of how one area of law is playing out in the larger
society whether it reaches the courts or not.
--


Richard Rinehart
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Director of Digital Media
Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive
bampfa.berkeley.edu
---------------
University of California, Berkeley
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2625 Durant Ave.
Berkeley, CA, 94720-2250
ph.510.642.5240
fx.510.642.5269