Staff Development for Media and Technology Digital Copyrights – Welcome to Vegas Baby! June 17, 2008 Presented by: Barry S. Britt This presentation will be published online at

Staff Development for Media and Technology DON’T DOWNLOAD THIS SONG!! June 17, 2008

Copyright Cases During the end of the 2005 – 2006 school year, a large and affluent school district in North Carolina, who had large media programs for the students while running their own cable station, had been insistent that they were operating within “Fair Use”, and using only portions of songs which were not for profit. The district did not understand the proper meaning of “Fair Use”, and were forced to explain their actions to authorities. Thinking that their “Fair Use” explanation would hold up, the district was sited on 38 various law suits totaling over $30 million dollars. Upon further research, the authorities also discovered peer to peer sharing of illegal music files among students, and filed separate lawsuits against the parents of guilty students. In the case of one girl, she had shared over 5 thousand illegal downloads, and her current fine is at $3 million dollars.

I can download music legally from Napster I can download music legally from Lime wire I can download music legally from Kazaa I can download music legally from I-tunes June 17, 2008

I purchased a song, I can burn to CD I purchased a song, I can load to my player I can send it to my friend by or on CD I can use it as background music for my video June 17, 2008

What is legal use? Purchased from legal distributor for: Home use Personal use

Educational Use (Refers to) Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia The Conference on Fair Use met in 1997 to try and establish some guidelines for educational use.

“If you are having to talk about Fair Use, then you’re already in trouble.” - Michael Brown, NY Copyright Attorney June 17, 2008

Educational Use Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia 6.7 Licenses and Contracts Educators and students should determine whether specific copyrighted works, or other data or information are subject to a license or contract. Fair use and these guidelines shall not preempt or supersede licenses and contractual obligations.

Educational Use Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia 1997 However, In 2008 U.S. Copyright Office states: The distinction between “ fair use ” and infringement may be unclear and not easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Educational Use Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia Section No web publishing No Must be on a secured, password protected network No copies

Other points in the Fair Use Guidelines Must be relevant to course content Used for face to face instruction (Wise to document in your lesson plan) One time use

“If you have illegal Peer to Peer sharing devices on your home or school computer such as Kazaa or Limewire – get rid of it, it’s not worth it!” -Barry S. Britt What does have to say? June 17, 2008

REMEMBER L.E.O. Legal – The law is the law, and we as educators have a responsibility to obey the law in our classroom setting. Ethical – If we do not obey the copyright laws, then what are we teaching our students about ownership and legal issues? Ownership – You do not own the music or material. It is not yours to use outside of home and personal use. June 17, 2008

“Every person who writes a document published on the internet, who creates a graphic or icon, who scans his own photograph or records his own voice into a digital file, who sends an electronic mail message, who creates a document for a newsgroup, or who designs a web page owns the copyright to his creative work.” - Carol Simpson, “Copyright for Schools” June 17, 2008

“Technology has always challenged laws and policies.” -Glenda Morgan, Director of Technology and Learning Initiatives, George Mason University. June 17, 2008

2 Important Facts about Digital Content to me? 1.It’s easier to infringe on someone’s © or ®, ™, (circle P) or other intellectual property. 2.It’s easier for them to see me do it!

“ What to do ” scenarios We’re studying classical music in our appreciation class. Can we use a Mozart song in a PowerPoint presentation? Do I need permission to put a link to another website on my page? I printed out some pages from the internet that pertain to my lesson, is this okay? I know that some teachers are showing movies as “rewards” for students, should I be concerned?

“ What to do ” scenarios Several teachers on the same subject want to view a video at the same time, can I do this through a video distribution program? Can I show just a clip from a movie? We did a pod-cast for teaching physical education to special education students at remote locations using pieces of copyrighted music. Are we ok in this? Can we post our pod-cast on our website? Is it ok to use pieces of copyrighted music in our pod- cast?

“ What to do ” scenarios We just completed our video yearbook, can we post that at on youtube? And, can we post it as well on our website?

“ What to do ” scenarios I ’ m doing a report on the war in Iraq. Can I incorporate some photos I found on the internet? I find a newspaper article on-line or in print which supports my research, can I use it? I find a video on youtube which supports my project for education – can I use it? My daughter Bethany ’ s recent project –

not smart questions. If I charge a donation to see the talent show, but don ’ t pay fees for the music I ’ m using, is that a problem? If I purchase a song on I-Tunes, can I use it in our video yearbook? If our children ’ s new TV station is using a piece of a song as a theme song, without permission, is that a problem?

not smart questions. If we use a song to accompany a slide show, without permission from the composer, is that wrong?

So what do we as educators do to be compliant in a digital environment? 1.Use only course related content – don ’ t “ stretch ” it. If in doubt, don ’ t use a copyrighted piece without written permission. 2.Think. 3.Ask for permission. 4.Define education for your purposes. 5.Always document usage in your lesson plan. 6.Write a regional, district, school wide, or even class wide copyright policy statement to which all users must agree. 7.Use legitimate (legal) royalty free music, images, photos, and properly licensed video.