Copyright Issues

What is intellectual property?

Is it okay to copy information such as words and pictures from a book, a CD-ROM, or the Internet?

Do I need to get permission to link to someone's website?

How can I tell if a student has copied their report from the web?

Intellectual Property

Have you ever written a story, created a work of art, or composed a song? If so, you have created intellectual property. Written works, photographs, artwork, and music are a few of the many products that people create from information and ideas. Many people enjoy sharing their intellectual property with others. However, they may want to get credit for their hard work.

Copyright Law

Copyright is the right to use ideas or information created by someone else. The copyright law is intended to protect the rights of content developers and describes restrictions that can be placed on copying materials. In other words, if you create information, you should get credit. This credit can come in the form of money if you sell the information in a book, CD, or subscription Internet service. In some cases, people aren't concerned about money, but they want to make certain that their name or organization is associated with the information. In other words, many educators are willing to share information for free, but they want to be sure that their work is cited. Read the article Copyright in the Digital Age for an overview of your rights and responsibilities.

In a global community such as the Internet, the laws become an issue. For example, the copyright laws in different countries vary. In the US, the copyright law contains a "fair use" section that gives people some flexibility to use and share information. Keep in mind that people interpret the laws differently. Interpretation of the laws regarding sharing of music is the basis for the Napster debate. Many people have inaccurate information about the copyright law. Check out the Copyright Myths to see if you know the facts. Try the Copyright Quiz.

You need to know the laws to protect you, your students, and the developers of Internet content. What's the law? What's your responsibility? Start your exploration by reading a great article on copyright at Education World. Students of all ages needs to know the copyright laws. Read Kindergarten Copyright by Rosemary Shaw (Technology and Learning, September 1, 2003).

Consider designing activities for Copyright Awareness Week in March.

Try the Copyright Interactive from Cyberbee. How did you do?

Copyleft Licensing

Copyleft is a recent term used to describe the removal of restrictions on the use of ideas and information. People who wish to share their materials can use the copyleft license to allow others to reproduce, adapt, and distribute copies of their work. Rather than placing materials in the public domain without restriction, copyleft groups such as Creative Commons and GNU General Public License provide a range of open source options.

Student Fairs and Projects

What rules and laws govern the use of materials in student projects? Use the following materials to help you understand your role and responsibility.

• Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers from Media Festival
• Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Student Project (PDF) from Kathy Schrock

Mashups, Collages, and Derivative Works

Students often use the work of others as inspiration or as part of a larger work such as an electronic scrapbook. Be sure young people are aware of their rights and responsibilities.

Read Visual Arts Cases - Derivatives by Monica Corton and Nancy Wolff to learn more about the issues of derivative works created by students.

Resources

Use the following websites to become a better informed information user.

US Copyright Guidelines and the Law

• Library of Congress - US Copyright Office
• Copyright Law - the actual law
• Distance Learning and the TEACH Act - ALA - laws that apply the copyright law to teaching
• US Copyright Office from Library of Congress

Copyright Information

• The Educators' Lean and Mean No FAT Guide to Fair Use from techLearning
• Avoiding Intellectual Property Problems by Thomas G. Field from Fierce Law
• Copyright Law and in the Electronic Environment by Georiga Harper at U of Texas
• The Copyright Website
• The Copyright Website
• Copyright and Fair Use from Stanford
• PBS TeacherSource: Copyright from PBS
• Lists of Additional Resources
  • Copyright and Citation Resources from Kathy Schrock

Copyright and Media

• Multimedia Seeds: Copyrighted Media
• Video Round Table - ALA

Student Resources

• Analyzing Opinions on Music Downloads - an interactive that helps students analyze information
• Copyright Kids from Copyright Society of the USA
• Copyright for Students from Ball State
• Copyright for Students from NCWiseOwl - answers basic questions about what can be copied
• Debating Music Downloads - an interactive that explores the issue of music downloads
• Define the Line from the Business Software Alliance
• Download Legal - focuses on illegal file-swapping
• Fair Use Harbor - for students
• Fair Use Travelogue - an interactive that takes you through evaluating websites related to copyright
• (In)fringe Benefits? Investigating Intellectual Property and Copyright in the Information Age (Grades 6-12) from New York Times
• Intellectual Property - a "crash course in copyright"
• US Patent and Trademark Office - patent, trademark, and copyright information

Copyright Lessons and Educator Resources

• Campaigning for Fair Use: Public Service Announcements on Copyright Awareness (6-8) from ReadWriteThink
• Copyright Infringement or Not? The Debate over Downloading Music (9-12) from ReadWriteThink
• Copyright Crusader to the Rescue - Curriculum and Teacher Guide (PDF)
• Creativity in the Class - Focus on Music and Copyright
• Film Piracy Problem - Problem solving activity for Grades 8-12
• Improving on the Original (6-8) from EconEdLink
• Join the C Team - K-12 resources that encourage creativity and respect for intellectual property
• Online Mayhem I: Metallica Versus Napster (9-12) from EconEdLink
• Online Music (6-8) from EconEdLink

Internet Links and Copyright

Students and teachers creating web projects are faced with an interesting issue related to linking to information. If you're creating a list of popular websites are you allowed to link to these websites or do you need to get permission? Is it okay to link to other people's websites? Read the article on Linking Rights for a nice discussion of the issues.

Copyright Permission

There may be times when you want to get permission to use an excerpt of text or a photograph from a book, CD, or Internet site. How do you get permission? What kinds of rules do you need to set up in your school? The following websites contain ideas and guidelines:

• Getting Permission to Publish
• When Copying is OK
• Copyright Implementation Policy
• Permission to Use Graphics or Links
• Multimedia Seeds - Permission Form 
  

Copyright Review

If you'd like more information, consider taking the online CyberBee Copyright Workshop. Remember the following three tips:

• If in doubt, get permission
• When sharing outside the classroom, get permission
• Integrate copyright issues into student assignments

Explore Copyright Issues

Let's use the analogy of visiting an art museum. It's okay to give directions to a museum, but it's not okay to steal the artwork. Some museums loan out their artwork or let you take a copy home. However, you'd need permission to do this. Although there may be many entrances into the building, the museum may request that you only enter through the front door. Some museums charge an entry fee while others are free. Discuss this analogy. Does it fit the Internet? Can you add other aspects that reflect both a museum and the Internet?

Can you think of another analogy that fits?

Create a set of copyright guidelines for your school. Include a standard permissions request form.

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