Copyright Activity

Brandi Adamy

SLM 521  Summer 2003

          In the case of the teacher that is allowing her students to use graphics from the internet and use them in a power point presentation, you need to take a look at copyright issues. Nearly every original, tangible expression is copyrighted immediately upon creation. An author does not have to register the work, announce that the work is copyright protected, or display the copyright symbol to enjoy copyright protection. All he or she must do is create an original work in tangible form.   So most of the graphics the students would be using would be copyrighted. Most copyright experts recommend this rule of thumb -- when in doubt, assume a work is copyrighted and ask permission to use it.  But there is also the idea of the Fair Use doctrine.  In this case, these graphics would be used for educational purposes not intended to take away income from the creator.  It would be most safe for the teacher to have her students use graphics from public domain materials for educational use and to pick a few sites for her students to work off of and ask permission for graphics to be used in these presentations. 

          The teacher who is downloading MP3 files and distributing the songs to her class is infringing on copyright laws. Many of the MP3 files available on the Internet and local networks are unauthorized and illegal copies of performances copyrighted by the artists and distributors who recorded them. The Recording Industry Association of America recently sued Napster for facilitating widespread copyright infringement. While many MP3 files have legitimate uses, users must respect the copyright laws of popular music files. Also, reproducing the files and distributing them to many students is illegal.