Response to Chanda's The Hot Spot Blog

Chanda Robinson Wrote:

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Copyright Issues (link)

According to the copyright videos, copyright only means having legal rights to what you create.  It was amazing to find out that if I have a play that I created, if it is not in video or script form, I cannot copyright it.  Be aware that if you create something, it must be script or video to have ownership.  I also learned that copyright is not about usage but it is about permission to use it.  For example, if an artist want to use part of another artist song, beat or lyrics, they should ask permission and pay the artist for their work.  Some copyright materials are free for usage so no law will be broken if you use it, but credit should be given to the owner.  It was also amazing to me to see the video Good Copy Bad Copy.  I was astonished to see that music can be a copyright issue by just taking one beat from a song and changing its tempo and tone to meet your song is a copyright issue.  Most artist are not creating their own beats or if so they are extremely similar to other artist.  When an artist use any portion of another artist beat they need to get permission from its originator.  

Copyrighting seems like it is a big deal but it is not only if you ask permission from the owner of the work.  In so many words, copyright is similar to plagiarism.  When writing and using text from someone else written piece, you have to cite your work which means give ownership to the original author.  That is what copyrighting does for all works, materials or creations by people.

My Response: Chanda,
I enjoyed reading your straight forward explanation of copyright. I agree it is very common for artists to use and reuse beats. The issue becomes complex. I was most surprised that there is no really good way of knowing how copyright issues will be decided in the courts. Organizations creating best practices are trying to create norms and set a standard but it still remains somewhat mysterious as to how any particular case will be decided in the end. I guess the best practice is to use as little of other peoples work as we possibly can and hope we are covered by Fair Use for anything we cannot avoid using.

Response to Jonny Hughes Back2Life Blog

Image from Jonny Hughes Blog page.

 Wk1 Reading: Copyright Issues

In Part I of this week's reading, I gained a far better knowledge of what a copyright actually was than I had previously. The Good Copy/Bad Copy documentary was simply awesome! From the stories of the artists known as Girl Talk and Danger Mouse, to the topics of The Pirate Bay and Creative Commons, I think that the overall message here was that regardless of what copyright laws exist around the world, it will not stop people from being inspired by the works of others and from using that inspiration to create their own works. I don't know if it was planned or not, but the ending of the documentary fascinated me, where the artist from Pittsburgh was creating a remix of a remix by a Brazilian producer. It all came together so perfectly, and this scene really drove home the point for me.

In Part II, I loved the Fair Use Fairy Tale! I found it to be a very creative way of explaining a complicated subject. It appeared as though the creator of this video was angry, and it always amazes me that such brilliant works can come from such emotions. As an educator, I sometimes wish that all uses of copyrighted materials in the classroom would be considered Fair Use, but I also try to see the reality of economy and the ability of creativity to yield enough money to support a comfortable life. Also, in Part II, the story of Shepard Fairey and the Obama Hope Poster was just crazy. I had seen this poster so many times, but I never knew the story behind it and the copyright battles that stemmed from this political piece.

Part III was the most enlightening!  Creative Commons is the place to go to see the beginnings of the future of creative licensing in our ever-changing world. The different license types that are available seem to be so simple, that it is a wonder that they have not caught fire in the educational world faster. This is such a perfect resource that all teachers should be aware of and teaching to their students. In his TED Talk, Larry Lessig made some very clear points, but the one that I really enjoyed hearing out loud was his closing message about how kids are different today because of technology, and that society has created a culture of corruption because everyday people are living against the law. Our country and many other democracies around the world are in desperate needs of makeovers, and I believe that the time for this to happen is not far around the corner.


My Response: Jon- I also enjoyed the bold use of Disney Animation by the Fair Use Fairy Tale filmmakers. Disney is one of the most strident enforcers of copyright law for it's products. I agree that creative commons is a good source for those that wish to share and have often used images I found there. I know that many artists would also like to share, as Lessig suggestion as a solution. My only concern is that corporations hold the rights to artists works and they are not as likely to be so generous. Corporations weld a significant amount of power. I am interested to see how things are resolve.

Week 1 Response to Daniela's Dragonfly Dreams Blog

 I responded to Daniela's Blog

Wk 1 Copyright and Fair Use

After watching the videos on Copyright and Fair use, I am more concerned about how much is NOT fair use. I never realized how small the widow is for all the media that is out there. I have been concerned about the copyright issues over the last 10m months, but was not sure about all the rules. I believe I too was under the top ten misconceptions. As, I believe, are most people. I find that these rules are most difficult to explain to our students, especially at the Elementary level.  However I am finding that we are going to need to educate them early so that they are aware of what the laws are since they are our 21^st century learners.  Which brings up the concern that if I am still confused about what the rules are exactly how do I get it across to the them? These lines are blurry are hard to explain... 

1 comments:

Lori Buder said...

Daniela, I agree with you that the copyright and fair use issues are hard to grapple with. At first, I thought fair use was the answer. Then, I listened to the NPR interview/discussion about Shepard Fairey and found it will be decided "on a case by case basis". I doubt anyone knows what would happen if taken to court with one court overruling the other. It seems like Faerey's decision to use the image and fight the case later was the only way he could have created the "Hope" poster. What are the odds of getting a timely response to using other people's work?

September 3, 2011 10:16 PM

Week 1 Readings Copyright

Image from film GoodCopyBadCopy.net

I found the discussion of copyright a fascinating study of culture. The philosophy that people would be discouraged to create if they could not make a profit on their creations. The film showed this not to be the case. If Nigeria is producing double the number of films that the USA does then high profit does not seem to be a reasonable explanation for the need for copyright. (Ref. 1) Copyright seems to me to be more an issue of power and control than a way to encourage creative endeavors. From the readings it seems most of the people who have an issue with the copyright laws are those want to be creative but who are stifled because they cannot use what they are exposed to in a an inventive way to make something completely new. Interestingly, corporations exaggerate the “damage” done by copyright infringement in order to get the government to assist them in making higher profits.(Ref. 2). What makes it such a norm that making a profit is more important than other social priorities? I understand this is the norm in a capitalistic society but where does it end? For example, should anyone really be making a profit on illness? Our governmental policies support it. While other countries march in the streets for more social benefits, we have people marching to support the super wealthy. The films make it abundantly clear that you need to watch your step or big brother may get you. I understand the concept of getting permission but it is a difficult process. I was most disturbed by the idea of copyrighting dance. Some things are meant to be shared. These laws seem like an undue burden on both creativity and our court system. I understand wanting to protect individuals in the short term but lifetime +70 yrs. for individuals and 100 years for corporations may be excessive.  I imagine the laws will only become more restrictive over time. If Fairchild had enforced the right to semiconductor technology, the internet and personal computers would not exist. Because they allowed the technology to be exploited beyond their now shut doors, the world was changed.

I agree with Larry Lessig (Ref. 3) that making what young people create and share naturally criminal is an unhealthy response to today's realities. Shepard Fairey had little option when he used the photo from the Associated Press because getting permission was unlikely and "fair use" can only be decided on a "case by case" basis.  The interview on NPR (Ref. 4) shows that even the original photographer, Manny Garcia, had to wage a legal battle to determine who owned the rights to the original image, him or the AP.  The only true hope for the landslide of re-mix, mash-ups, and the like is that it is so prevalent that there is not enough funds to fight the legal battles needed to stop it. The real question is in the end who will control our ability to share and create as a collective culture?

References:

1. http://www.goodcopybadcopy.net/
2. http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2010/04/us-government-finally-admits-most-piracy-estimates-are-bogus.ars
   

     3.  TED Talk video: ReMix Culture by Larry Lessig, retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/187 on 01/14/2011
     4. Shepard Fairey: Inspiration Or Infringement? NPR Fresh Air interview, retrieved from http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=101182453 on 02/27/2009

Week1 Wimba

Image from EMDT MAC Wimba Archive.

MAC week 1 Wimba session explained all of the upcoming activities for this month.  I noted that the page break needs to be removed before the reference section to make the lit review web ready.  I will have to have my lit review taken down and resubmit because that was unclear in the activity section.  I watched Wimba first using FireFox but the images never changed on screen and I had to switch to Safari to view the images. I am concerned about the publishing or presenting aspect of the CBR.  This is not my major field of interest and it is not something I want to do. Hopefully we will be given an option. Finally, I have been watching the extensive videos and reading the articles on copyright and it is taking time to wade through. I will post about that tomorrow. I really liked the tie died shirt! :)