WHO:             Peter Decherney

                      Professor of English and Cinema Studies

                      University of Pennsylvania

WHAT:           Penn Lightbulb Café, "Freedom to Innovate: The Global Spread of Fair Use”

WHEN:           Tuesday, Sept. 9, 6-7 p.m. 

WHERE:         World Cafe Live Upstairs, 3025 Walnut St., Philadelphia

For 150 years, fair use, which allows works protected by copyright to be used without permission, was a United States-only doctrine. Fair use has encouraged technological innovation from the VCR to Google, and it has permitted criticism, debate and appropriation art. Over the past decade and a half, South Korea, Israel and Singapore have all adopted U.S.-style fair use. Today, a dozen additional countries are considering new fair use laws. Professor Decherney will discuss the potential impact of global fair use on technology, creativity and online debate.

The talk is part of the Penn Lightbulb Café, a free public-lecture series presented by the School of Arts & Sciences and the Office of University Communications that takes arts, humanities and social-sciences scholarship out of the classroom for a night on the town. Each hour-long talk begins at 6 p.m. and is followed by an audience Q&A. Café events are free and open to the public. Seating is limited. Menu items will be available for purchase.