Five-Minute Film Festival: Copyright and Fair Use for Educators I absolutely love it when teachers and students create, remix, and mash up media; it's a fantastic way to encourage deeper learning and media literacy. But one issue that complicates digital freedom of expression is copyright law. While many would argue that copyright law is outdated and badly in need of an overhaul, it's still critical that adults and kids alike have a basic understanding of what's legal and ethical while playing with other people's intellectual property. Here's a list of videos I collected to help you navigate the murky waters of copyright law in educational settings. Video Playlist: Understanding Copyright and Fair Use Watch the player below to see the whole playlist, or view it on YouTube. Understanding "Fair Use" in a Digital World (06:14) This excellent video by Common Sense Media and Teaching Channel shows students evaluating video remixes during a lesson in fair use. More Resources for Teaching Copyright and Fair Use
Wanna Work Together? 2006 — 3:00 mins Pays tribute to the people around the world using CC licenses to build a better, more vibrant creative culture. Translations To view subtitled versions, or to contribute a translation, visit the dotSub page for this video. Italian (YouTube)Russian (YouTube)Armenian (YouTube) Assets License Wanna Work Together? Music Company Does Not Own 'Happy Birthday' Song Copyright, Judge Rules A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that Warner/Chappell Music does not own the copyright rights to the famous "Happy Birthday to You" song, which has become a nearly mandatory part of birthday celebrations across the country and beyond. Federal judge George H. King made the ruling Tuesday in response to a lawsuit that sought to have the song placed in the public domain. Warner/Chappell claimed it assumed copyright of the song when it acquired Birch Tree Ltd. in 1998. King ruled that a copyright claimed by the predecessor of Birch Tree, the Clayton F. "Because Summy Co. never acquired the rights to the Happy Birthday lyrics, Defendants, as Summy Co.' The suit claims Warner/Chappell collects $2 million a year in licensing fees for the song. The lawsuit was filed after the music company in 2013 filed a claim against a musician who recorded the song during an event in San Francisco.
Judge Rules Warner / Chappell Doesn't Have the Rights to 'Happy Birthday' Inside every dishwasher, refrigerator, and washing machine is a little valve that directs the flow of water. For decades, most of these valves have come from a factory in the northwestern corner of Illinois, but not after today. The solenoid valve is a largely unknown but ubiquitous gadget. Hidden away in the guts of an appliance, when activated, the electromechanical valve opens to allow water into a washing machine or dishwasher, while monitoring temperature and volume. It’s the unseen traffic director for the water flowing through our soft drink fountains, cappuccino machines, and just about anything that dispenses water with the touch of a button. For decades, the majority of the world’s supply of solenoid valves came not from Chicago or China, but from a little factory in the northwestern corner of Illinois.
Happy Birthday Is Finally Public Domain, China's Official Linux Distro...[Tech News Digest] The song “Happy Birthday” finally enters the public domain, a look at the Linux distro the Chinese government is hoping to replace Windows with, people are watching fewer season premiers this year, Pebble’s got an attractive new watch, and a cat that is absolutely up to no good. Happy Birthday Is Now Public Domain Have you ever wondered why TV and movie characters go out of their way to avoid singing “Happy Birthday”? It’s because the song, despite its public domain melody and culturally omnipresent lyrics, weren’t free to use. Warner Music owned the rights, and they charged everyone for the right to use them. Even restaurants avoided singing the song, for fear of a lawsuit. But no more! Eight decades later, the bogus copyright claim to "Happy Birthday" has been busted. EFF (@EFF) September 23, 2015 You can read more about this decision at the Washington Post, and you totally should. Seriously, how was that not public domain? People Are Watching Less TV
Creating the copyright problem for teachers | Kennisland 14 oktober 2014 Last week I had the pleasure to give a talk1You can have a look at the slides I used here (Dutch only). to about 35 progressive high school teachers about Open Education, copyright and Creative Commons licenses. I have discussed this topic with teachers before, but it was the first time I came back the next day to answer any questions that arose after they had a chance to implement my tips and tricks. The result was completely disheartening and very optimistic at the same time. The issue? I may have ‘solved’ a problem for them, but they were upset I created the problem for them in the first place. Thankfully, more and more teachers are taking control of their classes and personalising their lessons. The problem(s) But there is no problem when teachers start from scratch with their materials, I hear you say, because in that case they are copyright holder and can do what they want. The teachers’ response What can we do?
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video • Code of Best Practices • Common Fair Use Myths • Getting to Know Your Code of Best Practices • Copyright Backgrounder • Recut, Reframe, Recycle • Unauthorized: The Copyright Conundrum in Participatory Video • The Good, The Bad and the Confusing: User-Generated Video Creators on Copyright • Latest News in Fair Use • Videos June 2008Click here to view or download a PDF of this report. Report by: The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property,American University Washington College of LawThe Center for Media & Social Impact,American University With funding from: The Ford Foundation,by way of the Future of Public Media Project Introduction Background Best Practices 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Conclusion Notes Common Fair Use Myths What This Is This document is a code of best practices that helps creators, online providers, copyright holders, and others interested in the making of online video interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use. What This Isn't How This Document Was Created Back to top Michael C.
Fair Use The policy behind copyright law is not simply to protect the rights of those who produce content, but to "promote the progress of science and useful arts." U.S. Const. Section 107 of the Copyright Act defines fair use as follows: [T]he fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. Unfortunately, there is no clear formula that you can use to determine the boundaries of fair use. The Four Fair Use Factors 1. If you use another's copyrighted work for the purpose of criticism, news reporting, or commentary, this use will weigh in favor of fair use. In evaluating the purpose and character of your use, a court will look to whether the new work you've created is "transformative" and adds a new meaning or message. 2. 3. 4.
About the Fair Use| U.S. Copyright Office U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index Welcome to the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index. This Fair Use Index is a project undertaken by the Office of the Register in support of the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement of the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator (IPEC). Fair use is a longstanding and vital aspect of American copyright law. The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The Fair Use Index is designed to be user-friendly. Although the Fair Use Index should prove helpful in understanding what courts have to date considered to be fair or not fair, it is not a substitute for legal advice. We hope you find the Fair Use Index a helpful resource. Please note that the Copyright Office is unable to provide specific legal advice to individual members of the public about questions of fair use.
Video and Copyright | Professional Tools Please note that ALA cannot give legal advice. If you need legal advice, you should contact an intellectual property attorney. For general information and guidance, you may contact Program Director Carrie Russell of the ALA Washington (DC) Office, at phone number 1-800-941-8478 or via e-mail to crussell@ala.org. See the blog sponsored by ALA's Office for Information Technology Policy in Washington, the Copyright Advisory Network: A community of librarians, copyright scholars, policy wonks. Many questions are answered on the United States Copyright Office website at Copyright.gov; see Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright and the Copyright Basics Circular (PDF). Resources and Publications for Librarians and Educators Answers to some of the most common questions concerning video and copyright have been addressed on the Ask the ALA Library Blog compiled by the ALA Library staff: Additional resources include: Use of Videotapes/DVDs/Video Files 1. 2. 3. 4.
Overview | Teaching Copyright As today's tech-savvy teens become increasingly involved with technology and the Internet for learning, work, civic engagement, and entertainment, it is vital to ensure that they understand their legal rights and responsibilities under copyright law and also how the law affects creativity and innovation. This curriculum is designed to give teachers a comprehensive set of tools to educate students about copyright while incorporating activities that exercise a variety of learning skills. Lesson topics include: the history of copyright law; the relationship between copyright and innovation; fair use and its relationship to remix culture; peer-to-peer file sharing; and the interests of the stakeholders that ultimately affect how copyright is interpreted by copyright owners, consumers, courts, lawmakers, and technology innovators. Unit Goals Educate students about copyright law, including the concepts of fair use, free speech, and the public domain. Objectives for Students Assessment
Copyright issues when using music in videos | Copyright | Legal / Grants Welcome to the digital age! Do you remember many years ago when trying to produce a video for your school took several thousand dollars worth of elaborate and bulky video equipment to make it happen? Now here we are in 2008, and with a very inexpensive digital video camera and some free software, you, yes even you can produce, publish and broadcast your video around the world – how exciting! And yet, how scary. I’ve attended many conferences and workshops where attendees learn to use the latest and greatest technology and are encouraged to incorporate their favorite songs in videos to make their production more captivating. After all, every great video needs music, and any that do not use audio for enhancement lack in professional quality. And this is the scary part – when a teacher or student uses a chosen piece of popular music in his or her video. What are the problems? #1. #2. #3. What are the solutions? a) Make your students and staff aware of the potential infringements. Barry S.