A Positive Solution to School Copyright Issues

PETE&C Concurrent Session

Dr. Scott Garrigan

http://www.acape.org/garrigans/wkshp/copyright.pdf

plagiarism v. copyright violation

• Section 8, Clause 8 of U.S. Constitution - copyright law
• plagiarism is not part of any U.S. or state law

History

• Copyright is for the public good - according to the U.S. Constitution
• Is a system to keep authors creating, not to give authors special privilege (purpose is progress)
• T. Jefferson suggested a 14-year copyright period for the USA
• new media is considered to have economic value for 7 years
• regarded as an industrial regulation
• restricted publishers
• beneficial to public, easy to enforce, uncontroversial
• Power exercised by authors over publishers for the benefit of the public
• with computer networks it became ordinary readers and viewers were empowered to easily copy and disseminate the works
• publishers requested law to apply to individuals , not just companies
• law is not a power wielded by publishers over the public ostensibly to protect authors, but publishers get most benefit
• now controversial, difficult to enforce, is it beneficial to the public?
• Extending duration of copyright
• Constitution prohibits perpetual copyright
• every 20 years lobbyists extend copyright by 20 years to keep works from public domain
• through "free trade" treaties, US government attempts to impose extended copyright on other nations
• NOW - copyright duration is the life of the author + 70 years

Solution 1: Educate

• Students and teachers should know that their work is automatically protected by copyright (if teachers use a student's work from a prior year as a model, legally they must obtain written permission from the student and student's parents before it can be used)
• classes can study copyright law, traditions, and recent changes
• current events and issues in copyright can be discussed so all stakeholders gain a balanced perspective and a sense of how copyright law is changing

Result:

• appreciation and questioning of the law

Solution 2: Be Creative

• most students IP infringement in written reports and multi-media presentations
• Does curriculum emphasize correctness or creativity?
• assignments could change:
• individual creative work more highly valued
• factual implications of personal value could be emphasized over factual correctness (how does it relate to me, my school, my family?)

Solution 3: Document Process

• written and multi-media projects have discreet phrases which can be documented
• notes, outline, draft, revision
• the process can be taught and guided in class
• peer editing programs can reduce plagiarism
• require submissions of notes, outlines, drafts, and revisions
• evaluate with a rubric that includes process as well as product

Solution 4: Copyright Enhancements

• Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org/)
• Wikipedia/WikiMedia (http://www.wikipedia.org/)
• Internet Archive (http://www.archive.org/)
• EveryStockPhoto (http://www.everystockphoto.com/)
• YouTube, Flickr, Blip.tv, Owl music

Solution 5: Open Source

• Open OS: Linux
• Open Productivity: OpenOffice, NeoOffice, Abiword, Gnumeric, etc.
• Open Tools: Scribus, Cmap Tools, Audacity
• Open Graphics: GIMP, InkScape, SketchUp
• Open Math / Science: Sage, NetLogic, POV-Ray, Scartch
• Open Web: Google Docs, Zoho, etc.
• Open Content: Freereading,net (FL), Wikipedia, Wikibooks, Library of Congress (government docs are always copyright free, primary sources whose copyrights have expired), MITOpenCourseWare

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