After seeing the movie, I couldn't help but wonder how all this copyright pishposh could possibly seep into the classroom. Say, for example, I start teaching middle school and assign my students a video project after they read a Harry Potter book. Now, what if after the class, they post that video to youtube and somehow get in trouble with the Warner Bros. guys. Could I, as the teacher, possible face any legal charges?
I guess this is a stretch, but I am just curious of how all the copyright laws are stated. Does anyone have knowledge in this area?
I think it is only going to get more complicated as our multimedia world expands exponentially. On the other hand, I think if a teacher or student uses an article that may be copyrighted, they are normally not prosecuted unless their actions persist. For example, do you recall the file sharing incidents where students were sharing hundreds of copyrighted songs and were caught? The record companies went after them and won. Technically, most of us have probably violated copyright laws if we have recorded a movie or song rented from the video store or library. In contrast, during my last visit to Thailand, you could buy ANY movie or Microsoft program for just a few dollars. But things are changing there as well. Easy access to multitudes of material can benefit us as well as be a curse. In general, most copyrighted materials allow you to use an article/source for personal use and I believe WSU's library could provide more info on the subject.
ReplyDeleteTimmy C