Copyright Laws

Copyright laws and rules are complex but important safeguards to protect the intellectual property rights and the economic value of peoples work. The range of works that fall under the copyright protection laws is varied and include literary works, musical compositions, motion pictures, or works of art. The basic premise is that if use by other than the copyright holder causes a loss or potential loss of economic value to the creator, or holder of the copyright, then a violation has occurred.
Work created on behalf of an employer is the property of the employer. These legal rights extend for long periods of time. In the case of an author, works are protected for 70 years after the writer’s death. Companies that own material protect their rights with zeal. Disney Corporation is an example often cited for a company ready and willing to protect its copyrighted material and to that end, employs legions of lawyers to monitor violations and prosecute for perceived violations.
Copyright law is not an iron clad science. The laws are written such that many times it is not clear what use can be made of material and what cannot. It is therefore, the copyright holder that interprets the law and files lawsuits when they believe their rights have been violated.
There are provisions for limited use of copyrighted material spelled out in the law under the provisions of the Fair Use conditions. Fair use allows limited use for the purpose of criticism or parody, for commentary, or use by educators or journalists. Again, fair use provisions are ambiguous and subjective so lawsuits are still filed even in cases where the use of material seems to be allowable. Fair use generally is understood to cover situations where the material has been substantially transformed. It also depends upon the nature of the copyrighted material. The amount of material used is another factor; if the amount used is small there is usually not a problem.
Copyright holders are usually generous about granting limited use rights for educational purposes so it is frequently just a matter of requesting permission for a teacher to make use of copyrighted material. This is where it can be a bit tricky. It is not always clear whom to ask or how to do so. Several web sites offer guidelines and advice about how to contact copyright holders to ask for permission.
I think overall copyright laws seem fair. If the loss of economic value standard is reasonable applied then it is only reasonable that content creators should be able to protect their material. The problem seems to be in the general way the laws are written. This causes some companies, like Disney, to seem to be overly protective of their material. I think they have a case to be made; if their material were widely used it would dilute the economic value of their content. I have known for years that they will take older movies out of circulation for a number of years and then when they reintroduce the work, a new generation of children is ready and eager to get their parents to pay again to see the movies. This has kept Disney a valued trademark and a profitable company for many years.
I will have to be careful to honor copyrights in using material in my classroom. The copyright symbol, ©, is not something I have had to pay attention to in the past. Now that I have some understanding of the laws, the allowances under the fair use provisions, and how to ask permission to use copyrighted material I will have to be careful in this regard in the future.
The same goes for my students. It will be my responsibility to educate them regarding these laws and to monitor their work for possible violations. If I perceive there may be a problem, it will now be my responsibility to give my students this information. I have saved the references from this lesson as I am sure I will need them when I have my own classes.