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Welcome to Berkman Center Google Summer of Code 2011

The Berkman Center was founded to explore cyberspace, share in its study, and help pioneer its development. We represent a network of faculty, students, fellows, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and virtual architects working to identify and engage with the challenges and opportunities of cyberspace.

We investigate the real and possible boundaries in cyberspace between open and closed systems of code, of commerce, of governance, and of education, and the relationship of law to each. We do this through active rather than passive research, believing that the best way to understand cyberspace is to actually build out into it.

Read more about the Berkman Center.

Check out the GSOC overview page.

Idea Page by Project

The opportunities at Berkman break down into several projects.

Projects:

Fair Use Tool: The Fair Use Tool is an interactive online system that guides users through fair use principles in a playful way, enabling students to determine whether their reuses of copyrighted content are plausibly fair use. or if they would be more likely to be deemed copyright infringements by a judge. The tool provides sample court cases, relevant inputs based on court cases, and feedback. With practice, the goal is that both teachers and students will build an understanding of how fair use principles work in practice, creating a knowledgeable public informed of their rights and thereby supporting the online content creation culture of mash-ups and remixing.

Herdict: Have you ever come across a web site that you could not access and wondered, "Am I the only one?" Herdict Web aggregates reports of inaccessible sites, allowing users to compare data to see if inaccessibility is a shared problem.

Berkman Google Summer of Code FAQ

Answers to commonly asked questions. This includes a set of requirements around working hours, who can apply, other commitments you might have for the summer, etc. PLEASE READ!