Week 1 Reading

Copyright laws can feel like such a mess and seem to stress many people out.  I am glad we are looking deeper into this issue and I am surprised we did not do this earlier in the program.  With all the sources out there especially for educators it is important to know what we can and can’t use.  I thought the ten myths were interesting because I have heard similar discussions from people that I work with.  While most educators are just looking to use sources to benefit their students they need to be careful in how they do it.   Another class I am in is also looking at copyright and fair use and I am amazed at how many videos there are to educate us! 

In the documentary I found the music laws very interesting.  I loved what the DJ in Girl Talk said about passing out free paint on the streets and this providing the world with more painters.  It shows how people will grab onto different types of art and run with it.  The trouble with some copyright laws and people's knowledge of the laws is that it can stop them from opening up their creativity.  Some fear what could happen if they use a certain work, while others have no clue what the laws are and may be within their legal rights but don’t do it. 

I also found it interesting to see what other countries think of copyright.  I was surprised to see so many differences and wonder how artists in the US feel about the current laws.  


Certain parts of copyright seem to really hurt others such as how videos are going to disappear since their copyright is expiring.  It seems awful to me that something like this could happen and the only way to protect it is of course with more money.  But for a documentary that is quite a large price to pay. 


I do really like that people are able to easily mark their work using Creative Commons and are able to share their work in different ways.  Many people love to create and like that others are inspired by their work and can use it to expand on their own work.  With Creative Commons anyone is able to show off their creations and let others know exactly how they can use it.  


Now where do we go from here?

Mircosoft Word