Tag Archives: copyright law

Copyright or copywrong? (Group Sept. 25th)

Kimesha, Dimitri and Steve

According to the Grey video, copyright law dates back to the early 1710’s and gave authors control over who could make copies of their books or build on their work but for only a limited time. The law’s purpose is still the same but after many changes by congress, it lasts for lifetime of the author plus 70 years. Both Grey and Lessig agree that copyright is stifling creativity in that we are not allowed to recreate and remix using other people’s content. Lessig’s discussion of this was in relation to digital technologies since our generation is built on technology; it is how we communicate with one another. A defense of copyright is fair use. The idea of fair use depends of the nature, extent and economic aspect of the work being used. The Center for Social Media reading discusses fair use for educational purposes. How educators are allowed to use different media in teaching students and help them learn. This is demonstrated in Faden’s video. He edited different clips from Disney movies to explain how copyright works and what it entails.

What are some other examples of amateur culture that you have seen or created?

Should artists and creators allow their work to be available more freely?

Is there any copyrighted material that you think should not be copyrighted?

Do you have any suggestions on how to make copyright laws more understandable?

How would the absence of a copyright law affect creativity?

Copyrighting

So how does one really know if they’re breaking the law by copyrighting? When do we know if we are copyrighting, The video “A Fair(y) Use Take” assigned to watch suggests that the law of copy writing is in a way extortion. Even if we use an idea that is copyrighted it is against the law and we would need permission to use that idea. From the video “Laws that Choke Creativity“, Lessig suggests that there is a fine line between piracy and copyrighting. When can we actually use material without asking for permission? When showing a video to the class, the source is usually YouTube, do teachers really need to ask YouTube for permission each time they’d like to show their class something? The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education help distinguish when it is reasonable to display others work by not taking credit and also when it is considered piracy.

Notes from today, and reading & blogging homework for Wednesday, September 25

Today we discussed social media and social networking, debated new terms for these ideas, and spent some time considering the limits of Wikipedia and the potential of so-called “Big Data.” The TED Talk by Tim Berners-Lee that wouldn’t load during class appears to be working now, so feel free to view it on your own time. Slides from today are available here.

For Wednesday, please read and view the following:
Center for Social Media, Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, sections “code” and “principles” only
Grey, Copyright: Forever Less One Day
Lessig, Laws that Choke Creativity
Faden, A Fair(y) Use Tale

Your blogging assignment is one reading response blog post. Our discussion facilitators are Kimesha, Dimitri, and Steve.

~Prof. Leonard