Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship

C-IP2’s Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship is a year-long non-resident fellowship program that brings together a group of scholars to develop research papers on copyright law and policy. The Twain Fellowship is one of the centerpieces of C-IP2s mission to promote a better academic discussion about intellectual property rights with substantial scholarship produced from rigorous research that examines the moral and economic value of copyright and creative works.

The Twain Fellowship consists of a series of invitation-only conferences over the course of a year in which the fellows study and discuss a structured curriculum, engage in roundtable discussions with expert senior scholars and industry representatives, and share and collaborate on both their research and early drafts. The Fellowship culminates in the production of substantial academic research papers that are published in law journals or other peer-reviewed academic journals.


Spotlight on Scholarship

Eric Priest, Copyright and Free Expression in China’s Film Industry, 26 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 1 (2015)

In this paper, CPIP Twain Fellow Eric Priest takes a fascinating look at whether copyright enhances or impedes state censorship in China’s film industry. Here’s a brief excerpt: “This Article’s main claim is simple and relatively narrow: film industry commercialization in China, enabled and undergirded by copyright law, is not a drag on free speech. To the contrary, it engenders liberalization of the government’s informal censorship practices and even its formal censorship rules. This has led to greater diversity of film subject matter available for mass consumption than any other model.”


2014-2015 Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship

Final Meeting
January 15-16, 2015
New Orleans, Louisiana

On January 15-16, 2015, CPIP hosted its third and final meeting of the Inaugural 2014-2015 Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship. The meeting was held in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the meeting, the Twain Fellows presented their draft academic research papers on copyright law and policy. The Twain papers will be published this year in law journals or other peer-reviewed academic journals.

Throughout the Twain Fellowship, Fellows received valuable feedback from expert Senior Commentators, representatives from industry, and other Fellows. CPIP would like to thank all of the participants in this year’s Twain Fellowship for creating a stimulating and rewarding intellectual environment and for making the Inaugural Fellowship a success.

Second Meeting
June 26-27, 2014
Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University
Arlington, Virginia

On June 26-27, 2014, CPIP hosted the second meeting of the 2014-2015 Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship. The meeting was a works-in-progress workshop and was held at Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University. At the meeting, the Twain Fellows presented their initial research proposals and received valuable feedback from Senior Commentators and other Fellows.

First Meeting
May 14-16, 2014
Scottsdale, Arizona

CPIP launched the Mark Twain Copyright Fellowship Program on May 14-16, 2014, with an inaugural fellowship meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. The meeting featured three days of academic roundtable discussions on various topics in copyright scholarship, as well as panel discussions with artists and representatives from the creative industries.