There is a lot to say about copyright and copyright infringement. After reading the twelve pages on copyright from the government copyright office, I still have some questions to ask. First it list a number of ways in which a copy is recorded. On page 3 of the document it states ““Copies” are material objects from which a work can be read or visually perceived either directly or with the aid of a machine or device, such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, film, videotape, or microfilm.” Not once did I read in the document that or a piece of work secured through data storage was legitimate or not. I know that it can be secured by the means, but with the use of technology, and the way artists use it, you would think that this article would be amended to specifically read that securing through data storage is accepted. Microfilm is listed, and how much is that used today?
Another question that pops up when defining the laws of copyright is what is considered “Fair Use”. Wikipedia, which is not considered a reliable source, but best states who does and does not fall under the “Fair Use” policy. “Examples of fair use include commentary, criticism, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving and scholarship.” What about people, instructors, who teach others that are not “licensed” teachers? Do they fall under the same category as a teacher? Here’s an example; you have a nurse that is in charge of instruction at the hospital she/he works at. They want some instruction on the latest procedure on removing cancer in a localized area. The nurse researches the procedure and finds material from other hospitals and surgeons on the internet. They use pictures and videos to describe the procedure. The nurse uses the material in his/her PowerPoint for the instruction. She cites the work and all that. Does she fall under the teaching guidelines of “Fair Use”? All the places I looked states “teaching” not instructor or for instructional use.
Copyright is a law that protects work that is created by a person or a group of people from being copied unfairly by someone else. A person cannot copy, distribute, or display another person’s work with giving that person credit for it. Work would be defined as a video, audio, or written expression. Work could also include architectural design. The current law states that a person’s work is protected for the life of the creator plus 70 years.
Fair Use is one exception to the copyright law. Fair Use allows the public to use portions of a person/s work under certain stipulations. Commentaries, news reporting, research, teaching, and library archiving and scholarship allows for the limited use of another person’s or people’s work.
Public Use is granted to material that is openly used by the public for any reason. Usually these are works created before 1923. They also include works in which the copyright law has expired and not been renewed.
Creative Commons copyright allows the creator to obtain a copyright license for their work, but the work is freely allowed to be copied, in part or in whole, and used by others without obtaining permission.
There are a number of videos that I viewed concerning copyright and the law. Here are a few. Most of the ones I chose would help a classroom teacher explain copyright to their students. Also I would like to reference Kim’s blog for more really good information.
Good informative blog. You really read all 12 dry pages of the government copyright law? Wow kudos to you. I think that there has got to be a part somewhere about digital copying. You hear so much about music being downloaded and burned and musicians wanting their money from it. Is this what you are talking about?
ReplyDeleteThat video you linked to was interesting. I wonder if the music was podsafe, haha!
ReplyDeleteI give you two thumbs up for reading the 12 pages :) I'd have to do it in 12 days :)
ReplyDeleteThat's a good example you have. It's a bit complicated and for me, very glad that UCM has a legal office but from what I gathered, if I link out it's ok. So I do that more now than having the info on my document - esp. if it's an online document.