Linda Kilcoyne
SLM 521
Summer 02

Copyright Activities

Select two scenarios and write a paragraph for each that explains the law and if the described activity is allowable or not.

A teacher in your school (who has a really rowdy bunch of monsters) makes an agreement with them that they learn how to make power point presentations on sports, war, hunting, rock music and such. She lets them get graphics from anywhere on the Internet. Sites such as Sports Illustrated, ESPN. DOD, Rock Music Hall of Fame. They make great presentations and become great kids. What are the copyright implications??

Response:
The Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia Projects says that the students may use the copyrighted materials they took for their presentations, but the following use restrictions apply:   the projects may only be used in the class for which they were created, they may be included in personal academic portfolios, and they may be used for graduate school and job interviews.  The guidelines also say that on the opening page of their presentations and on any print material, a notice that some materials are included under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law.  The students must credit their sources, including the author, title, publisher, and the date and place of publication.  The guidelines go on to say that the students may use the copyrighted graphics, as long as they don't use more than 15 images or 10 percent, whichever is less, of the photographs or illustrations from a single published work.  The guidelines are less restrictive for K-6 students on the portion limits.  There are also restrictions on how the students projects can be stored.  The students cannot make more than two copies of their projects, one for their personal use, and one to be held in the school library.  They cannot distribute copies without getting permission from the copyright owners. 

Mr. Jamweimer, the parent of one of our most intellectual students, has paid to download a wonderful computer software program for his little Einstein. Mr. Jamweimer wants "our school" to be the best and sends a copy of the download file to be used by the students on the computers at school. P.S. all of the kids use it and win Nobel prizes in science, literature, physics, chemistry, and playground.

Response:
Mr. Jamweimer, may not copy his purchased software program and distribute it to the school computers.  Mr. Jamweimer does not own the purchased software, he simply has a license agreement with the software company.  Through his copying of the software, Mr. Jamweimer is creating a loss of profit to the computer company.  He should read his licensing agreement carefully. 

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