Press contact: Sheryl Cannady (202) 707-6456
Public contact: Peter Vankevich (202) 707-0600

March 4, 2005

U. S. Copyright Office Welcomes Students During Copyright Awareness Week, March 21-25

The U.S. Copyright Office will host students at the Library of Congress in support of Copyright Awareness Week from March 21 to 25. This nonpartisan project of the Copyright Society of the U.S.A. is designed to educate youth about the importance of copyright and encourage greater understanding of its role in society.

The Copyright Office was established at the Library of Congress by an act of Congress in 1870 to protect the written works of authors, which has been expanded over the years to protect other creative works such as music, designs and recordings. "The founders of our country believed that by stimulating authors and publishers to create and disseminate works, the public would benefit," said Marybeth Peters, the U. S. Register of Copyrights. We have over 200 years of history living with copyright as a part of our culture -- 200 years of copyright’s success as measured by today’s convenient, inexpensive access to a wealth of creative works."

During the week, students and teachers will visit the Library’s James Madison Building to meet with copyright specialists. The orientation will include a tour of the Copyright Office exhibit, a brief history and overview of current copyright issues and a mini-workshop on how to register claims to creative works.

Students will learn about copyright as both users and creators.

For more information about copyright and the Copyright Office, visit www.copyright.gov. To arrange for a visit to the Copyright Office, teachers should contact Peter Vankevich, head of the Copyright Information Section, at (202) 707-0600 or pmva@loc.gov.

The Library of Congress is the nation’s oldest federal cultural institution and the largest library in the world, more than 130 million items on approximately 530 miles of bookshelves.

The Library receives some 22,000 items each working day and adds approximately 10,000 items to the collections daily. As the home of the U.S. Copyright Office, the Library receives the majority of its collections through the copyright registration process.

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PR 05-058
03/04/05
ISSN 0731-3527

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