Copyright

Greetings!

This week we will start with a little quiz about copyright. Read the scenarios and see how well you do.

Questions:
A. A history teacher was teaching about World War 2 in his classes. One evening he was watching television and noticed that a great documentary was coming on and it would be a perfect addition to his teaching for the next day. He videotaped the documentary and used it in his classroom. Is this legal to do?
B. True or False. The drawings your students do are copyrighted.
C. True or False. It’s OK to copy things if you want to use them for educational purposes. You don’t have to worry about sources; it is fair use.
D. True or False. It’s OK to make copies of your computer software, music CDs, or movie DVDs.
E. Your 8th graders want to use a mix of songs during graduation. Is this legal to do?


Answers:
A. Yes, this is legal to do. There was no time to ask for permission. However, if the teacher wants to keep his copy and use it again the following year, he must then write for permission to use the entire work in his classes.

B. True. Intellectual property is defined as any original creative work that is tangible such as a writing, diagram, work of art, musical compositions, sound recordings, photographs, movies, computer software, and more. Copyright laws today apply as soon as the work is created. You don’t need to mark the work with a copyright symbol. All original creative works – student papers, drawing, etc. – are protected by copyright.

C. False. It is OK to copy things for educational purposes, BUT you still must cite your sources. Copyright law permits the teacher or student to use excerpts from a copyrighted work in a school paper without obtaining the copyright holder’s permission. Students and teachers must still cite their source to avoid plagiarism. Only a small percentage may be used for educational purposes. Students or teachers may not make copies for personal use or to exchange copies with other students.

D. True and False. This is kind of a trick question. It is OK to make a backup copy of your personal items in case one gets damaged. You will still have the original copy to use. However, it is not OK to share these copies with your friends. It is not OK to take your computer software and put it on your desktop, your laptop, and your kids’ laptops for everyone to use unless you are licensed for multiple use. It is OK to download purchased software on multiple devices if only one device will be operating at a time. For example, my husband and I both loved playing a game called “Zuma” a few years ago. He bought it for his computer and we took turns playing it. We would not have been legal if he also downloaded it to his laptop and both of us were playing it at the same time. At work, I have a copy of Microsoft Word on my computer. I am licensed through the school to use this. I can also download it at home so I can work at home and my files will transfer, but I don’t use my work computer at the same time I am using my home computer. The same thing goes for music. I can download my personal CDs on my computer, phone, and other players, but I cannot legally let my friends use my CD (or DVD) to download on their devices, too. If I give my CD to my friend, I must delete the CD from my devices.

E. Probably not. The music industry is very picky about this kind of thing. From all that I have read, you would need to contact the artist or the manager or the record company to check for permission. There are lists of songs that are in the public domain which could be used. It takes some researching to find songs that you would be able to use without contacting the industry for permission. It also takes a long time to hear from them, so if this is something that your school does, it would be good to start very soon.

Just in case anyone is interested, when our churches post the words to hymns or makes transparencies of songs to sing, they should be paying for the right to do so and citing the source.

It can get pretty sticky and some people may think that they won’t get caught. Unfortunately, this is probably true. You may not get caught. But more and more, copyright violators are being caught and sued. Average costs to settle out of court run about $4,500 or more. Copyright violators can also be prosecuted on federal criminal charges. Fines can be up to $250,000 or imprisonment for up to five years or both.

It is my opinion that SDA schools and teachers should be doing their level best to follow the law. Our students (and their parents) need to see us being a good example. I know I am preaching here, but I always ask myself, “Do I want to be kept out of heaven for this?”
For more copyright information go to www.copyright.gov . For lessons for students on copyright go to http://ymiclassroom.com/lesson-plans/b4ucopy/ . These lessons can be downloaded and used with your students.

I hope you have a great week.
Audrey