COPYRIGHT ISSUES IN EDUCATION Presentation by Ben Hilt

Just what is copyright anyway? Copyright is the legal right of authors to prohibit others from copying their work. It gives the author exclusive rights over the work for a set amount of time. The copyright symbol denotes that something is still under copyright protection and is denoted with a C within a circle.

But there’s more… Which types of media can be copyrighted ?  Posters  Comic strips  Books  Newspapers  Magazine Just about anything!

A few types you might not have thought of…  Computer games  Songs  Photography  Drawings  Movies  Sound recordings  Choreography

What does it mean? A copyright is meant to keep people from stealing someone else’s work. It allows the owner of the work to pursue legal action should someone steal or copy part of their work. Copyright infringement is the term used when a copyright is violated in some way.

Plagiarism vs. Copyright infringement  Representing the ideas or words of another author as your own.  The internet has made this act much easier.  Using material in ways that violate the authors exclusive rights  When dealing with music or movies this is called piracy PlagiarismCopyright infringement

Plagiarism and copyright infringement can be easily confused. Copyrights restrict the ways in which a work can be used, often refers to physical copies. While conditions of use can vary, a copyrighted work can be used in several ways.

When can copyrighted material be used?

What is fair use? Fair use is the term used to describe acceptable use of copyrighted materials. Writers understand that students might want to quote them or use their work and so they specify how this can be done. Fair use is why you must go through the process of citing your sources otherwise you’re plagiarizing.

Copyright infringement is not limited to plagiarism…  Plagiarism  Making a large number of copies of an article without permission  Copying music or movies (piracy)

How can we gain permission to use material? When writing a paper or other work students are allowed to quote or paraphrase parts of a work. In order to print a large number of copies of a work you must gain permission. Cannot be ed, linked to, or posted without permission from the author.

How long does a copyright last? Copyrights are not permanent. Published since 1978: The lifespan of the author plus 50 years. Prior to 1978: varies from 50 to 75 years. After the copyright expires the work enters the public domain and can be used freely.

The public domain is… The public domain is all works which are no longer under copyright protection. Public domain material belongs to the public and can be openly used for any purpose. Only about 15% of all books are currently in the public domain.

If we didn’t have the public domain…

What does this mean for education? Copyright issues can make things difficult for both teachers and students. Educators must be careful to follow the rules AND teach their students to do the same. It is getting harder and harder to teach and learn without committing copyright infringement.

For teachers: The copyright laws are unclear and not strongly enforced, often leading teachers to use materials inappropriately. Teachers often use articles etc. in their lessons in ways that infringe on copyrights. Printing large quantities of articles or uploading onto websites etc is illegal.

Teachers must be careful when:  Recording books etc. on tape for deaf students  Downloading and watching movies from websites or from DVD’s  Sharing work of past students as examples

Complications of blackboard Blackboard is an excellent tool but teachers must be careful to use it correctly. Uploading articles to blackboard without permission is copyright infringement. Teachers and students alike should be sure to ALWAYS ask for permission to use materials.

The other side of copyright In addition to trying to use materials properly teachers are faced with trying to prevent students from breaking the rules. Teachers must be on constant lookout for plagiarism in student work. Teachers need to know the rules to enforce them! Teachers also must be sure to teach the students these rules effectively.

For students… Students must be taught to follow citation rules when writing papers etc. Students must be sure to use materials fairly. Students must know the rules, often these rules are confusing and unclear. Many students are never taught about copyright or the public domain.

Complications: Anything you write or create is yours as soon as its written down or taped. Everything we write becomes instantly copyrighted for our exclusive use. Students borrowing papers or information is copyright infringement. Opportunities for fraud.

While writing is instantly copyrighted, ideas are not. If you share ideas with someone they can use those ideas for their own use without consequence. You are allowed to take ideas and change them, using others work as inspiration is not illegal.

Some students just don’t care Even when students know the rules they choose not to follow them. The internet has made copyright infringement extremely easy. File sharing programs allow people to share files and information easily. It shows that kids are willing to steal and cheat.

Wonderful world of limewire

Students can share music files, movies, and computer software with anyone in the world. Are students willing to share homework and other materials as well? Survey found that only 29% of kids worry that downloading materials is wrong.

Where is the issue heading? Copyright laws in the future…

The future for copyrights The internet will continue to make copyright laws harder to enforce. File sharing is only becoming easier and more widespread as the internet becomes faster and larger. Lessons and life in general continue to become more technology and computer oriented.

Ideas are merged and shared, who’s is who’s? Do online collaboration tools infringe copyright? Tools such as glogster and animoto make this issue complicated, do they infringe on copyrights?

What will you do?  Think before you download  Always cite your sources  Ask permission  Be aware of copyrights!