Scenario #1
You find an outstanding World Wide Web site on the Internet and want your web page to contain some of the glittering wonderfulness of this site. You can down load and use what part of the web page without infringing on copyright.
Creating
a web page is exciting and creative, yet a daunting and frustrating endeavor,
as few of us are naturally graced with programming and computer skills. Therefore, it would be wonderful to browse
through the virtually limitless array of web pages in existence, picking and choosing
the parts that we feel would be perfect for our original website. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, nor
legal, to do so. The efforts and ideas
that the constructor of the “glittery” designs is the intellectual property of
that person, and therefore cannot be pirated.
You may not simply take the part that you like and use it. You may, however, contact and receive written
permission from the creator to use it, which, although most likely a futile and
frustrating activity, will ultimately save you from legal problems. The best idea would be to buy a book on web
design or make friends with someone who knows how to make your drab site a bit
more exciting! That way you could
improve your own product and stay out of jail….
Scenario #2
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.
Parents can be and are a teacher/educator’s best and
worst nightmare. Surprisingly to
everyone who is not a teacher, the highly active and motivated parent is
sometimes the most challenging individual to interact with. In this instance, however, you can rely on
the weight of copyright laws to help you.
Although Mr. Lamweimer did pay for the software, he is really only
paying to use the software for himself, and certainly did not pay for the entire
school to use it. Regardless of whether
or not we feel Bill Gates needs the extra profits, this situation is a clear
example of why copyright laws were developed in the first place. If the school did in fact take the software
and installed it on 20, or 50, or 100 computers, that would be taking money
directly from the manufacturer, who would be losing those sales. This could very well lead to extensive and
painfully embarrassing legal action against the school, which should make
certain that it is protecting itself from this very situation. In this case, a simple “thank you” and
explanation would be sufficient to not ruffle any feathers of parents, while at
the same time protecting your school.