CopyrightX: Libraries - 2026 syllabus

  • Ana Enriquez (Penn State University Libraries)
  • Katie Zimmerman (MIT Libraries)
  • Matthew Kopel (Princeton University)

During the course, we may change the syllabus if there is an important development in the areas we have not taught yet, such as a new decision from the U.S. Supreme Court. We will not do this lightly, and we will give you as much warning as possible.

Update: The Supreme Court has issued an opinion in Cox v. Sony. This opinion is now one of the readings for Week 11. We have removed another reading about the same case.

13 Information about CopyrightX: Libraries 13 Information about CopyrightX: Libraries

Below you can find the information about CopyrightX: Libraries that we shared at the time the application was launched.

What is CopyrightX: Libraries?

CopyrightX: Libraries is an affiliate course of Harvard’s CopyrightX and is open to library, archives, and museum staff everywhere. Participants will learn the essentials of U.S. copyright law, theory, and practice with an emphasis on issues relevant to cultural institutions, alongside a cohort of professional colleagues. It is an entirely online 12-week course comprising pre-recorded lectures, readings, and weekly seminars. It is free of charge. CopyrightX: Libraries is taught by Katie Zimmerman, Director of Copyright Strategy at the MIT Libraries; Ana Enriquez, Copyright Officer and Head of the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright at the Penn State University Libraries; and Matthew Kopel, Open Access and Intellectual Property Librarian at the Princeton University Library.

What sort of time commitment should I expect?

The class runs for 12 weeks. Each week, participants will watch an ~80-minute recorded lecture, read the assigned material, and attend a 90-minute synchronous seminar conducted via audio and text chat. The average total time commitment over the 12-week course is ~ 5 hours/week. After the 12-week course there is an intensive law-school style exam, which you will have a four-day period to complete. To obtain a certificate of completion, participants must both pass the exam and attend at least 10 of the 12 weekly seminars.

Who will be in the class?

Participants will be library, archives, and museum staff from anywhere in the world who choose to apply. The aim is to get a diverse group of people from a wide range of backgrounds who share an interest in copyright as it applies to cultural institutions.  Several seats are reserved for qualified applicants from the instructors' home institutions.  Alumni of the course can also recommend applicants, which influences, but does not guarantee, acceptance.

When will it be?

Your synchronous online seminar will meet in one of three time slots (indicate your availability in the application). In each instructor's local time, the sessions are on Fridays, February 6, 2026 – May 1, 2026. Your session may be on Thursday or Saturday for you, depending on your time zone. We will not meet on March 20, 2026. The final exam for the course will be administered over a four-day period in early May (exact exam details TBD).

The timeslots are for weekly, real-time section meetings. The times are listed first in the instructor's local time, then in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Please note that two of the instructors (Katie and Matthew) teach in a time zone (Eastern Time) that observes Daylight Savings Time. If your timezone does not observe Daylight Savings Time or observes it on a different schedule, the time of those sections for you will change when the U.S. switches to Daylight Savings Time on March 8 and (if applicable) when you change your clocks locally. The other instructor, Ana, will teach in a time zone (India Time) that does not observe Daylight Savings Time. If you observe Daylight Savings, the time of that section will change for you when you change your clocks locally.

Please check the time of the sections in your location on February 6, March 13, May 1, and the day after you switch to Daylight Savings Time or Standard Time (if applicable). To convert times to your timezone, we recommend the Time Zone Converter or the specific links below. 

Timeslots

Fridays, 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. India Time -- Fridays, 3:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. UTC (instructor: Ana Enriquez)
Fridays, 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time -- Fridays, 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. UTC before March 8 and 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. UTC after March 8 (instructor: Matthew Kopel)
Fridays, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Eastern Time -- Fridays, 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. UTC before March 8 and 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. UTC after March 8 (instructor: Katie Zimmerman)

How can I apply?

The application for CopyrightX: Libraries 2026 was open until 11:59 PM Eastern Standard Time (UTC -5) on December 12, 2025. The CopyrightX: Libraries application is entirely separate from the application administered by Harvard. If you want to take CopyrightX with fellow library, archives, and museum staff, you should apply to CopyrightX: Libraries.

Other questions?

If you have questions about the course, please email us: Katie Zimmerman (kbzimmer[at]mit.edu), Ana Enriquez (anaelizabethenriquez[at]gmail.com), and/or Matthew Kopel (mkopel[at]princeton.edu).