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Copyright & Fair Use IssuesThe technologies ushered in by the Internet also introduced many problems and pitfalls that an educator must be wary of. Using only a mouse to give the "cut/copy and paste" one can plagiarize somebody else's work with a few clicks. If you are concerned that your students are turning in homework and term papers that are liberally copied from the Web, read From Now On: The Educational Technology Journal featured article by editorJamie Mackenzie called: The New Plagiarism: Seven Antidotes to Prevent Highway Robbery in an Electronic Age (May 1998).Now in the Web you will notice flagrant copyright violations by individuals or groups using famous cartoon characters, trademark logos of consumer brands, and popular songs in their sites. In most of these cases the permission of the copyright owners were not sought. The threat of lawsuits have many colleges and universities educating its teachers, students, and faculty on proprietary rights issues in the use of multimedia materials in instruction. This includes a teacher posting articles, essays, charts, and pictures of other people in a class website. A lot of unsuspecting educators do not realize the legal implications when works published in a different format are converted in digital form, such as photos and articles in newsletters that are made available on the Web without the consent of the sources. In certain cases, fair use exemptions such as educational purposes and the "not for profit" defense are tenuous as many schools have found out. There are several university sites, for example, offering tutorials on writing research papers using the APA style, when in fact, the American Psychological Association that publishes the manuals is the copyright owner. One unrepentant individual describes his site as "one of several unauthorized copies ... which remain on the internet, years after the APA forced me to remove the original from Psych Web." Why is it a big deal?Copyright not only gives the owner exclusive rights to copy or reproduce the work, but also to publicly perform, distribute, display, and make derivative works from the original. None of the other media such as print, radio, TV, visual and performing arts, ever had the capabilities that the Internet or Web has to infringe on all exclusive rights all at once."When material is posted on a digital network, it is almost certainly being simultaneously copied, distributed, adapted, publicly performed, and publicly displayed." The debate on copyright and fair use focuses on how controls on intellectual properties could either stifle or stimulate innovation and creativity. One side believes that unlimited access and reproduction via the Internet will eventually bring down the value of intellectual properties in the marketplace. Software companies and the recording industry face this dilemma everyday with many warez and MP3 songs freely available in the Web. The time and money they invested are negated when they have no control over the distribution of these products. Artists and authors also feel cheated when their works are not even credited to them. The other side believes that people need access to other works to inspire them. In the 1980s IBM allowed the development of "open architecture" for the personal computer that fostered an environment of constant innovation and creativity. This explains why there are many "IBM-compatible" PCs and hardware today. Tim Berners-Lee justifies his reasons for not patenting the hypertext code that built the Web on similar lines: It was simply that had the technology been proprietary, and in my total control, it would probably not have taken off. The decision to make the Web an open system was necessary for it to be universal ... If I, and CERN, hadn't had that attitude, there probably wouldn't be a web now.For now while the arguments rage between protecting intellectual property rights and serving the public interest, it is wise to heed this advice: "In the absence of the physical and conceptual boundaries of the law on the Internet, the professor should apply human behavior, institutional ethics, and professionalism guided by explicit regulations (law) constrained by inexplicit rules (social norms), and self-confirmed by one's conscience or religion, without the limitation of time and space." In other words, when in doubt, ask permission. To be on the safe side check the copyright guidelines of the Web sites for instructions. Commercial sites are predictably protective of the contents in their site, while several will offer freebies like screensavers and beta versions of a new software. Private sites are generally free though some are quiet explicit whether permission is required or not to link to their site, and to copy materials like text, pictures, etc. The good news is a lot of educational websites are free. Many such sites, like askERIC, offer free lesson plans while encouraging teachers to post theirs as well. Government sites, such as the US Library of Congress and NASA, also offer many materials that are in the public domain and are copyright-free.
Recommended reading"The Electronic Challenge for Copyright Law" by Georgia Harper, Office of General Counsel, University of Texas(Or any site or article from):
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 Antoinette.Go@usm.eduhttp://www.tonettego.net |