It can be hard to teach kids to respect copyright, when technology makes it so easy to copy someone else's work. How do you answer questions like, "But why did they put it online if not to share it?" and "Why is it so easy to save pictures I find online if I'm not supposed to do it?" It can be hard to explain that just because you CAN doesn't mean you SHOULD. Unlike sneaking a candy bar from a store, copying an image doesn't take anything away from the original owner. Besides, how would anyone ever know?
Here is a video that explains very clearly how to respect copyright, and also what its limitations are. After watching the video with your students, you can have them do this Copyright Scavenger Hunt to make sure they understand the ideas involved with copyright.
In a nutshell, there are 4 main ideas in this video:
- Copyright applies to a permanently fixed, original work in some form that can be seen or heard
Only the copyright owner can use the work, but the owner does have the right to give permission to others to use it. Usually this is in exchange for payment. - You can only copyright the form an idea takes
This means it must be written down, recorded, published in a book or website, performed, or something similar in order to be copyrighted. Ideas that are not in a concrete form cannot be copyrighted!!! - Copyright currently lasts for the lifetime of the owner PLUS 70 years
Originally, copyright only protected a work for 14 years - this was considered enough time for someone to profit from their work, and then it was released into the Public Domain (the body of creative works that are not protected by copyright, either because the copyright expired or because the owner decided to share it openly). This has since been extended to the remaining lifetime of the copyright owner, plus another 70 years after their death. Why does copyright expire at all? Well, most creative works are built on ideas in previous works (i.e. "standing on the shoulders of giants") and thankfully we live in a culture that encourages the development of new ideas. The best way to do that is by making existing ideas available for people to build on; copyright exists as a balance to protect the interests of both the producer of a work, and its consumers - "Fair Use" allows the LIMITED use of work that has a copyright, for certain specific purposes
There are limitations on copyright, but you have to be very careful not to cross the line into illegal uses. Fair Use allows for the limited use of a copyrighted work for the purpose of:- News reporting (ie "A new movie opened today, here are some clips)
- Parody (i.e. A humorous version of a song or play)
- Critical Comment (i.e. A book review)
- The nature of the work
- The amount of the work that you borrow
- The commercial impact of your work on the original