Karen Roof
July 11, 2003

                                Copyright:  Piracy and Ethics  

This page involves a review of two different educational scenarios in which the issue of copyright laws are called into question.  The scenarios are explained based upon those specific copyright laws relevant to the situations.  All information regarding laws has been taken from the following website:
http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/copy_myths.html.  Permission has been obtained (via email) to utilize this information by Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin.

Scenario One:
In the case of the teacher and the rowdy bunch of monsters to whom were assigned a Power Point presentation, there are a few ethical and legal  implications that could find that individual in trouble with the publishers from whom the students have “borrowed” their information, graphics, etc.  First, because plagiarism involves the copying of ANY information, including pictures, images and other graphics, it is important to obtain permission before "borrowing" any such materials. 

Secondly, regardless of how much or how little (in the case of graphics) a user borrows from a particular website, it is important to obtain permission for that use.  Although lawmakers have not clearly defined or established a mathematical solution to the proportions of documents which the public may use in their own work, it remains vital that users obtain permission for all portions of documents from which they choose to borrow.  Even though students may use mere clips or phrases from publications on the web, the importance and usefulness of that information may be defined only by the producer of the document him/herself - thus the reason permssion must be obtained.  The teacher in the Power Point scenario should have received express written consent before assigning the activity to students. 

Scenario Two:
In our second scenario Mr. Hamer has taken the liberty of copying materials from Houghton Mifflin’s website in order to prepare his tutored students for the functional writing test.  This infringes upon copyright laws for two reasons.  First, although the teacher has purchased copies of the HM materials, he has violated the rights of Houghton Mifflin to profit from additional copies of that material.  Although Mr. Hamer plans to use the materials for nonprofit and educational purposes, it is the nature of the material that must be considered. 

Secondly, permission must be obtained for materials even if they are assumed public domain.  Any distinctive characters, likenesses of persons, corporate works, or even ideas may be protected under trademark laws.  Mr. Hamer must consider that the work he intends to copy is protected under trademark as a set of ideas created solely by Houghton Mifflin; the information, although part of the public domain, may not be copied by any other parties without consent.