The Donald C. Brace Memorial Lecture is a series of annual lectures on domestic copyright given in memory of the publisher Donald C. Brace, who founded Harcourt, Brace & Co. in 1919. Apart from his interest in the art of literature, he was deeply interested in copyright legislation, the protection of creative talent, and freedom of the press. In 1950, he was awarded the Columbia University Medal of Excellence in recognition of his distinguished contributions to publishing. This series was originally established by a gift from his daughter, Mrs. Donna Brace Ogilvie.

The 54th Annual Donald C. Brace Memorial Lecture will be held at Fordham Law School on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.

PAST BRACE LECTURES (1970-2023)

  1. Melville B. Nimmer – “Copyright vs. the First Amendment”
  2. John Schulman – “The Battle of the Books Revived – Copyright Law Revision in the Year 1971”
  3. Hon. Theodore R. Kupferman – “Copyright and Judges”
  4. Robert B. McKay – “One Nation, Divisible – With Pornography for Some”
  5. William Jovanovich – “Writing and Reading for Love and Money”
  6. Hon. Barbara Ringer – “Copyright in the 1980s”
  7. Irwin Karp – “From Roth to Rohauer: The Twenty Years of Amicus Briefs”
  8. Harry G. Henn – “Cassandra Considers Copyright”
  9. Sigmund Timberg – “Copyright and Antitrust”
  10. Harriet F. Pilpel – “The Right of Publicity”
  11. Leonard Zissu – “Whither Character Rights: Some Observations”
  12. Robert A. Gorman – “The Implications for Copyright”
  13. Hon. David Ladd – “The Harm of the Concept of Harm in Copyright”
  14. Leo J. Raskind – “Functional Interpretation of Fair Use”
  15. Harrison E. Salisbury – “Copyright and Journalism”
  16. Ralph S. Brown – “Copyright and Its Upstart Cousins: Privacy, Publicity, Unfair Competition”
  17. Floyd Abrams – “First Amendment and Copyright”
  18. Nicholas A. Veliotes – “Copyrights in the 1980s: American Publishers Face a New Round of Challenges”
  19. Hon. Pierre N. Leval – “Fair Use or Foul?”
  20. Hon. Richard Owen – “A Court’s View of the Copyright Law”
  21. Paul Goldstein – “Copyright”
  22. David Lange – “Copyright and the Constitution in the Age of Intellectual Property”
  23. Thomas Mallon – “The Origins and Ravages of Plagiarism”
  24. Gerald Gunther – “Learned Hand: Outstanding Copyright Judge”
  25. Hon. Roger J. Miner – “Considering Copyright Crimes”
  26. Hon. John M. Walker, Jr. – “Protectable ‘Nuggets’: Drawing the Line Between Idea and Expression in Computer Program Copyright Protection”
  27. Jane Ginsburg – “Authors and Users in Copyright”
  28. Lloyd L. Weinreb – “Fair Use and How It Got That Way”
  29. Hon. Alex Kozinski – “What’s So Fair About Fair Use?”
  30. Hugh C. Hansen – “Copyright and the Culture of the Public Domain: A Critical Analysis”
  31. Hon. Lewis A. Kaplan – “Copyright in the Digital Age”
  32. Hon. Richard A. Posner – “How Long Should a Copyright Last?”
  33. Hon. Marybeth Peters – “Copyright Enters the Public Domain”
  34. Jessica Litman – “War and Peace”
  35. David Nimmer – “Patently Misguided? A Direct Analysis of Copyright’s Indirect Liability”
  36. Hon. Stanley F. Birch, Jr. – “Copyright Fair Use: A Constitutional Imperative”
  37. Richard Dannay – “Copyright Injunctions and Fair Use:  Enter eBay—Four-Factor Fatigue or Four-Factor Freedom?”
  38. Hon. Marilyn Hall Patel –  “I Got Rhythm, I Got Music, I Got Free Downloads Who Could Ask for Anything More? Can Musicians, Music Lovers and the Recording Industry Live in Harmony in the Digital Age?”
  39. Professor Mark A. Lemley – “Our Bizarre System for Proving Copyright Infringement”
  40. Hon. Denise Cote – “Making Experts Count”
  41. Hon. Denny Chin – “Litigating Copyright Cases: A View From The Bench”
  42. Peter S. Menell – “This American Copyright Life: Reflections on Re-Equilibrating Copyright for the Internet Age”
  43. Shira Perlmutter – “Paralysis to Progress: The (Useful) Art of Copyright Pragmatism”
  44. Hon. Jed S. Rakoff – “Copyright Damages: A View From the Bench”
  45. Pamela Samuelson – “Reconceptualizing Copyright’s Merger Doctrine”
  46. Roger L. Zissu – “Expanding Fair Use: The Trouble with Parody, the Case for Satire”
  47. Rebecca Tushnet – “Picking Up the Pieces After Star Athletica”
  48. Katherine B. Forrest – “Copyright Law and Artificial Intelligence – Emerging Issues”
  49. Jeanne Fromer – “The New Copyright Opportunist”
  50. Christopher Jon Sprigman – “What Does Antitrust’s Revival Mean for Copyright?”
  51. David Vaver – “User Rights:  Fair Use and Beyond”
  52. Maria A. Pallante – “The Art and Innovation of Exclusive Rights”
  53. Shyam Balganesh – “The Judicial Method in Copyright”