Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons Oh, My!
This week I spent some time going through the resources Professor Bustillos shared about Copyright, Fair Use and Creative Commons. I found each resource had its own interesting take on each issue. I really liked the documentary Good Copy Bad Copy. I especially liked the similarities between the top 10 myths of copyright and the reasons offered by Girl Talk defending his choices.
I can also say that I felt a bit like this:
From Open Clip Art Gallery user: ricardomaia / cliparteles; Can be found at http://openclipart.org/detail/154831/copyright-bomb-by-cliparteles
As a teacher I was blown away by the idea that I couldn’t use movies to teach ideas. Looks like my summer is going to be busy, creating media. However, I soon realized that copyright is there to protect creators of media. If I ever make something that is really cool and liked by a large number of people, I would like to make money on it. Copyright looks out for creators. Even creators of things like this:
I swear there was more to it than that. Bet I had the non-copyright version. We all thought it was so cool, thank goodness we have Justin Bieber now.
Before I cried myself to sleep, I moved onto fair use. Fair use seemed like it opened a door, although a small, skinny, give me the Alice-in-Wonderland-Rabbit-Hole-Magic-Potion please door, I realized that as long as I use the media for educational purposes and could show that it was essential to the material we were covering it was okay. Fair use seemed like an attempt to allow modifications to works for good reasons. However, fair use only works in certain situations. First, copyright material can be used for teaching, news reports, parody, and critical comments about the material. Even more important than that, teachers need to understand that how you use the material, how much you use, and any negative effect it may have on the original work’s money making ability can determine if the material is actually being used within the limits of fair use. I would think this wouldn’t apply:
Flickr user: gruntzooki; CC License; can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/doctorow/1349425577/
I’m thinking this isn’t what fair use stipulates by “parody.”
Further, it is important for teachers to show students how to use digital media appropriately. If nothing else than keeping Mickey’s head off someone’s, never mind. The important thing to remember is:
Flickr user tvol; CC License; Can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sixteenmilesofstring/2596569134/
Although, the above can be misleading as fair use is not a right, it is a legal defensible position.
Finally, the world became much kinder when I heard about Creative Commons Licensing. This allows creators of media to determine if and how their products can be used by others. Throughout my time at Full Sail, I have found the creative commons search my first resource. I found that over the last 10 months creative commons materials have increased in numbers. This can only mean great things for the forward movement of culture around the world.
From: http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,20061225,00.html
As we become a “remix” culture, Creative Commons offers us a way to take what has already been done and make it something even greater. Thanks Creative Commons!
No children were harmed in the writing of this blog, and all the media for this blog post is for educational purposes only.
1 Comment:
- Great post Kate. You really nailed Fair Use in one concise, yet entertaining paragraph. Its so hard to be concise and entertaining at the same time these days, lol. Really though your conception of the what, where, when, and why behind Fair Use is great. My head was spinning after all that content, on copyrights, fair use, and creative commons, so a little abbreviated recap is nice.
