Copyright, Fair Use, and Intellectual Property-Where Do Librarians Fit In? 

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Gretchen McCord is an attorney licensed by the State of Texas. She provides legal advising and training in the areas of copyright, trademark, privacy, licensing, and other legal issues associated with digital information and social media.  Her practice focuses on assisting educational institutions and libraries, small and mid-sized businesses, and non-profit organizations as they transition into the digital world.

Before entering law school, Gretchen practiced as an academic librarian for six years in the 1990’s, first as a reference librarian at the University of Texas at San Antonio Library and then leading the library instruction program at the University of Houston Libraries. After becoming increasingly interested in and concerned with legal issues surrounding the Internet and digital information, she decided to attend law school at the University of Texas School of Law, earning her J.D. in 2001.

After practicing in law firms for almost nine years, Gretchen opened her own legal practice in 2010, focusing on copyright, trademark, privacy, and related areas of law. Shortly thereafter, she established Digital Information Law to provide badly-needed training services for non-lawyers, primarily in copyright and related areas of law.  Gretchen spent six years at the international law firm of Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. and over two years at the prestigious intellectual property boutique of Wong, Cabello, Lutsch, Rutherford, & Bruculerri, LLC.

Gretchen has taught as an adjunct at both university and community college levels in the areas of copyright, privacy, trademark, and First Amendment law. During both her library and legal careers, Gretchen has written and spoken extensively on copyright and privacy law, and related issues.  She is the author of Copyright in Cyberspace: Questions and Answers for Librarians, What You Need to Know About Privacy Law:  A Guide for Librarians and Educators, and Fair Use: The Secrets No One Tells You.

Gretchen currently serves as a member of the TexShare Advisory Board, Executive Committee of the Freedom to Read Foundation’s Board of Trustees, Amigos Library Services Board of Directors, and American Library Association Legislative Subcommittee on Copyright. Her previous activities include serving on the City of Austin Library Commission, as President of the Friends of Libraries & Archives of Texas, and as President of the Texas Library Association. She remains an active member of both TLA and ALA. She is an alumna of the Snowbird Leadership Institute and the TALL Texans Leadership Institute. She is also involved in issues of sustainability and responsible growth and currently chairs the central Texas based Groups United to Advocate Responsible Development.

Gretchen received her B.A. from Rice University and M.S.I.S. from the University of North Texas. She received her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law in 2001 and is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas. While in law school, Gretchen served as Chief Articles Editor of the Texas Intellectual Property Law Journal and Co-Editor-in-Chief of the Texas Journal of Women and the Law

During law school, she also interned for the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Senate Jurisprudence Committee and worked as a legislative assistant for the Texas Library Association.