Wk 1 Blog Comment 3: Copyright Issues

Britni Hendrickson

photo by Mike Colletti

Copyright has always been confusing to me. I mean I know that when you use someone else’s work you must always give credit where credit is due but I had no idea that copyright had an actual (limited) lifespan. I also really appreciated the clarification of “fair use.” My first year of teaching, my fellow co-workers made “fair use” sound as though it was a given right, however it is not. There are limitation that we must be aware of. I also really appreciated the multitude of different points of view in the film Good Copy, Bad copy. One quote that I had to write down and think about was that copyright should not been as a limitation but yet “copyright is an incentive to create.”  This just really got me to thinking about analyzing copyrighted works, and fair use, and some of the ways this all effects not only teachers but also our students.

I am all about a shared culture, but I do believe that there still needs to be a copyright in place for those who want credit where its due. Creative Commons rocks in my opinion! I think they have not only the access but also the control that is needed. I see both ends of the spectrum. I see artists that want credit for their work no matter what, and I see people that are taking great works/materials, adding to them and creating new cutting edge innovative materials. Where exactly do we draw the line? Like with the sampling idea. This sampling takes so long and often times add in several pieces from several artists. I never really got my one questioned answered when it came to sampling, and that was, is sampling illegal? I did understand that there really is no written rule in regards to a set length when using media.

@Britni

photo by Mike Colletti

If anyone says he completely understands copyright and fair use, he is either a lawyer or a liar (no offense meant, Professor Bustillos, I just liked the play on words).  If I asked our faculty about fair use, they would all claim it is a right they have as teachers to use whatever they can to get the lessons taught.  And aren’t teachers the most blatant “borrowers” of other people’s materials?  So we are all guilty of not understanding either term.

I must agree that Creative Commons rocks.  What they are attempting to do is to create the shared community of intellectuals that all great societies, from ancient times to now, used to become great:  shared knowledge.  Unfortunately, elements like greed and jealousy create the rifts that split up these creative communities.  Don’t get me wrong, because I believe credit should be given where it is due.  I just think that once credit is given, there should be some allowances for taking something to the next level.  That is what defines progress and what we always want to see in our students – the need to succeed and use the brainpower that they have.