Copyright

Sean GetchellEDTC 6340

What is Copyright?

• Copyright. You may have heard the word...but just what does it mean?

Copyright can be a pretty confusing topic, and it comes with a variety of issues. Who owns it? Who can use it? How do you cite it properly? These are a few questions that commonly arise when copyright is mentioned. This page is designed to help you answer those questions, as well as provide a resource to give you a little background on some of the more important aspects of copyright that teachers (and students!) in the classroom should be aware.

Licensing and Software Piracy• Unfortunately, more than 75% of computers have some form of licensing issue with software

installed. This means that the software is not legal, and is subject to a wide variety of legal ramifications, whether usage was intended or not. This is why it is very important to understand how to tell if your software is properly licensed.

A good idea is to always register your computer and associated software products. In the case of computers using Windows, by registering your computer and software, you will be able to install updates, security fixes, and general improvements to your programs and computer operating system.

If you were using an illegal copy of either you would become subject to the security and overall usage risks that would be fixed by receiving these free updates (for legally purchased/activated products).

Besides the potential legal hurdles you may be subjected to, software piracy has long-term consequences that include the software company losing money, potentially hurting the economy, and leaves smaller companies at constant risk of downsizing in order to remain in business. Now does that $25 piece of software you are illegally using really seem that important?

Fair Use• What is Fair Use?

Put simply, fair use is the ability to use "copyrighted material done for a limited and "transformative" purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the copyright owner. In other words, fair use is a defense against a claim of copyright infringement. If your use qualifies as a fair use, then it would not be considered an illegal infringement" (Stim, 2013).

But what signifies this use? According to Rich Stim, a copyright attorney and his Copyright and Fair Use page through Stanford University, he mentions that fair use analysis falls into two categories:

A) Commentary and Criticism:The best example is if the work in question is used for a book review, or perhaps a new music album. You would be able to legally use samples of the copyrighted work in order to convey your point.

B) Parody:Likewise, a parody requires usage of some of the initial source material. While the actual allowable extent may be a little ambiguous, it is generally understand that a considerable amount may be sampled in order to allow the audience to understand both the original intent and then the potentially satiric end result .

Teach Act

• The Teach Act, officially known as the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act offering a number of improvements to regulations the U.S. Copyright Act. This was to assist distance education programs that met specific criteria an unprecedented amount of access to a wide variety of digital and non-digital works protected by their respective copyrights.

Copyright Video

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJn_jC4FNDo

References• Copyright basics. (2012, May). Retrieved from

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf

Copyright in general. (2013, September 05). Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

Stim, R. (2013). What is fair use? Retrieved from http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/

The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance. (2013). Copyright basics: The teach act. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/teach.html.