Week 1 Reading: Copyright Issues
Photo from OpenDemocracy at Flickr Creative Commons
So… copyright…wow!!!! I would like to start by saying that even though we were told about copyright when we started this program, it would have been really beneficial and inspiring to hear this stuff at the beginning of the program.
Intro:
I found it very interesting that copyright was an issue when the printing press came out. This makes sense because things could be copied much easier, but I always assumed that it was going to be started with artwork instead. The most interesting idea through this week’s readings is this notion that today’s culture is so media saturated that the rules are much harder to define. It is crazy to me that copyright length is so long since it will outlive the author or even the length of a company. I can see how this would make it much harder to “re-mix” this material. The ten (eleven) myths of copyright were interesting because they were some of the myths that I too believed in. As I have never had anything copyrighted before this program, I had never looked into my rights as an “author” of creative material.
Fair Use:
As a teacher I know that there are plenty of times that I have thought “fair use” as I am doing something in the classroom. As a student I can also think of many times where my teachers showed movie clips or gave us copies of material. Now when I think back on them, I don’t know if they would really be covered by fair use. I absolutely loved the Fair(y) Use Tale. It was a perfect and ironic explanation of copyright issues and fair use. I think that the graphic design teacher at my school could show it in her class as well. I found the notion of private censorship very interesting and I agree that history should not be lost because it is simply “protected” or hidden from the culture and nation that created it. This is where I love the idea of re-mix culture. In fact, some of the most creative masterpieces that my students have come up with involve remixing or reusing modern culture icons and media. As a teacher, I do find it helpful to think of the common notion that Mr. Professor mentioned: “If you can teach without copyrighted material, then it probably does not fall under fair use.”
Solution:
As a Full Sail student I feel as though I have become very aware of copyright laws to the point of being nervous of accidently breaking a law and going to jail… ok maybe not that bad. But Creative Commons has really been a great solution and has adjusted to our lightening fast society that is full of new media every second. It also makes me feel good to give back some of my work as Creative Commons licensed work. My favorite video of all three sessions was definitely the TED talks video at the end of session three. The best things really are saved for last. The three stories really hit home all of the points that were made and it makes you question how this generation is going to grow and change with copyright laws, remixing and mashups. All I know is that if Glee is allowed to show these mashups, why shouldn’t our students be able to create something just as entertaining on YouTube? As was said in the video, “…they produce for the love and not the money…”
I still have one more question:
What about taking a screen shot or picture of something such as a picture of a dance or a screenshot of Facebook? How does this fall under copyright?
Jess,
Love the copyright whoopee cushion. I also agree with you. This info would have been much better talked about at the very beginning. That would have given us more practice using Creative Commons (CC)’d material.
Also, I think it is interesting that a few licencing clearing houses have popped up with the advent of youtue. There are simple proceedures that artists can take to get permission and release material owned by someone else. It usually costs a little bit of money. Actually 9 cents per download to release copyrighted songs. I believe this price is set by congress .
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