In the fall of 2012, motivated by concerns about how the actual and perceived limitations of copyright can inhibit the creation and publication of new work in visual arts communities, particularly in the digital era, the College Art Association commenced a four-phase project to develop and disseminate a Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in the Creation and Curation of Artworks and Scholarly Publishing in the Visual Arts. Supported by generous preliminary funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and a major grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CAA engaged Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, professors of communications and law, respectively, at American University, both to research the challenges confronting artists, scholars, and curators who seek to use third-party copyrighted material and to assist CAA in developing a code of best practices for fair use.

In the fall of 2012, motivated by concerns about how the actual and perceived limitations of copyright can inhibit the creation and publication of new work in visual arts communities, particularly in the digital era, the College Art Association commenced a four-phase project to develop and disseminate a Code of Best Practices for Fair Use in the Creation and Curation of Artworks and Scholarly Publishing in the Visual Arts. Supported by generous preliminary funding from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and a major grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CAA engaged Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi, professors of communications and law, respectively, at American University, both to research the challenges confronting artists, scholars, and curators who seek to use third-party copyrighted material and to assist CAA in developing a code of best practices for fair use.