Reflective Post #6: Legal And Ethical Uses of Digital Information And Technologies

www.copyright.gov: Copyright Law

Copyright.gov explains that a copyright is meant to protect the owner of a unique work’s right to reproduce their creation and permit others to share it.  The website also notes that copyrights cannot protect unrecorded ideas-- Only concrete evidence of someone’s creativity through audio recording, writing, artwork, etc. is eligible for protection.  

 At times, a creative work may be considered “Fair Use”.  This means that people besides the owner may use portions of the work without asking for permission.  However, there is a fine line between “Fair Use” and copyright infringement.  Section 107 of Copyright Law lists four factors that help determine if usage is “Fair”: 

1)  The purpose of the use  (For example, will it be used for commercial or educational reasons?) 

2) The nature of the copyrighted work

3) The portion of the overall work that will be used 

4) The effect the use of work has on its potential for profiting the owner. 

Some general examples of items that are typically considered “Fair Use” include quotes, reproducing a portion of work for student use, and judicial proceedings.  Copyright.gov stresses that citing a source is not the same as obtaining permission.  When one questions whether or not usage is “Fair”, it is better to consult an attorney or not use the source.  

www.educationworld.com: Education World

Educationworld.com makes great suggestions for understanding copyright use specifically in educational environments.  It advises teachers is to avoid using a resource if its copyrighting status is unclear.  The site reminds teachers that their districts are ultimately responsible for any violations teachers and students make, so it is important to limit liability by requesting permission and using “Fair Use” sources.  The site also stresses the importance of teaching students to respect copyright law by asking permission themselves.  

Copyrighting is designed to protect the owner’s rights to “distribute, perform, display, transmit, or transform” their work for compensation.  Most items are copyrighted even if the author of the work does not make the presence of the copyright known.  Writing, music, theatrical works, and art are all copyrighted while facts, slogans, names, procedures, and ideas are not. Since laws and methods of publicizing creative works have evolved over time, there are a few valuable points to remember.  Any work before 1923 is no longer copyrighted, and items published between 1923-78 are not copyrighted unless specifically marked.  Additionally, work is considered legally copyrighted for 95 years after it is published.  

Educationworld.com explains that technology lie in somewhat of a gray area.  They are not specifically covered under law because no laws have ever been agreed upon regarding protection of technology related sources.  It is suggested that teachers use the guidelines created by the Consortium of College And University Media Centers (CCUMC) to help them avoid infringement.  The CCUMC notes “Fair Use” for teachers can include utilizing materials for classroom and remote instruction, conferences, and job interviews.  It is important to obtain permission if a work is used for two years or longer, and one is always responsible for citing sources.  If any written works are used, a maximum of 2 pages or 10% of the text (whichever is less) is permitted.  One image can be used from an illustrated source.  The website continues on to describe procedures for using software, music, and video footage in the educational environment as well. Educationworld.com reminds teachers that classroom websites and portals all leave a digital footprint.  It is especially important to request permission and cite URLs because content owners can easily track usage through internet searches.  

www.creativecommons.org: About Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a free website database that encourages the royalty-free distribution of photos, information, and songs.  While the internet provides unlimited access to incredible resources, Creative Commons believes copyrights inhibit usage and therefore prevent the potential for new work to be made in the future.  In an effort to help all people thrive off of public information, the website allows users to share, utilize, and build upon created original work.  Creative Commons work is still copyrighted, but it allows owners to be more specific about interested users’ rights.  After answering a series of questions concerning your sharing preferences, the website will match you with an appropriate Creative Commons license.  The organization hopes to use its public sharing options to maximize the creativity of all people.    

www.creativecommons.org/education: Creative Commons And Educational Uses

Creative commons is an excellent resource for educational environments.  The website explains that “education is sharing” and strives to help others extend their knowledge by providing them with "Fair Use" resources.  The organization believes that copyright is extremely restrictive in the learning process and wants to provide as many opportunities to spread information without legal concerns as possible.  Creative Commons gives people the opportunity to view and share documents with an open license in an effort to give others automatic permission to use work.  It provides users with “Open Education Resources” to educators that can be used as teaching tools in the classroom.

Reflection

I really believe in Creative Commons as an appropriate measure for protecting and sharing original work.  I love that Flickr has adopted it, allowing users to perform advanced searches for creative commons licensed photographs.  I have the students use Flickr Creative Commons searches regularly for locating reference pictures for their art projects.  Morguefile.com is also a great open source image database.  

Copyrighting seems outdated and unclear to me.  Even the “Fair Use” policies are vague.  While there are many people who are aware of legalities and risk consequences through the appropriation of others’ work, I think there is a large group of people who are willing to educate themselves but have trouble making sense of the terms of Section 107.  For example, I know someone who is currently being threatened with copyright infringement.  He is being sued because the name of his food-related website shares the name of larger restaurant chain out of town.  After reading about work that is able to be copyrighted on educationworld.com, it doesn’t sound like the restaurant has grounds to sue because names are not copyrighted.  If there was any clear explanation or if he had any idea that these threats were going to occur, I know he would have chosen a different name for his website.  

I think the copyright policies either need to be more concrete or all unique works need to begin using Creative Commons.  Regardless of the source and copyrighting stipulations, it is always polite to request permission from the owner.  I have a website of my artwork and choose not to watermark any of my high-resolution images.  I realize this allows anyone to freely use and re-post my work, but I choose to take this risk hoping that anyone who uses it will help direct people back to my site.  I have greatly appreciated when people have asked permission to use my pictures on their personal websites.  I also like Tumblr and Pinterest because users can easily show retribution to the original owner through URL links.  Copyright law will constantly change with technology infused methods of creating original work.  Hopefully creators will see the potential their work has to impact others and lean toward open use policies.    

Rubric Evaluation

Summary Paragraphs: Good, 5 points

There is one well-developed summary paragraph per reading. 

Reflection Paragraph: Good, 5 points

There are two reflection paragraphs that connects the readings to my own experiences at school and in the classroom. 

Quality of Writing: Good, 5 points

Writing is clear and contains no spelling or grammar mistakes.  

Connection To Readings: Good, 5 points

Reflection paragraph make a strong and coherent connection to each reading.