Copyright Issues

Copyright issues can be very vague and hard to interpret even for the experts. To make this worse, everything being so easily available on the web from so many sources both legitimate and not, muddies the waters even further. In the late 1990’s a meeting was held “in Washington to negotiate Guidelines for Educational Uses of Digital Works in a two-year-long Conference on Fair Use” (Fair Use). At it’s conclusion it was decided that they still did not have a handle on the issues facing the use of the web and intellectual property and materials. The rules and guidelines are constantly being re-considered and re-written or changed entirely. One thing remains constant however, if you use someone else’s work without permission you can and probably will be punished.

To determine if you may use a work you must answer questions like is it protected. If so do you want to use the work in a way that will infringe on the owner’s rights or are you using it in an approved manner. Many materials are available on the web and depending on the age of the document may be open to public use. For example, you can easily find many of Shakespeare’s works on the internet. Because “any work published on or before December 31, 1922 is now in the public domain” (Fair Use). This means if it was written anytime after that you need to research its copyright rules before you use, distribute or print it. Even a flyer for a party could get you in trouble if you use clip art or pictures that are protected.

One case that comes to mind for everyone when discussing online copyright infringement is that of A&M Records v. Napster case. Napster is an online music sharing network that allowed users to upload their songs and share with all other Napster users without having to purchase individual download licenses. This case paved the way for many suits to come in which individuals where sued for peer-to-peer file sharing (Adkins). “In July of 2003, the Recording Industry Association of America announced it would begin compiling information that would lead to the prosecution of persons using peer-to-peer file sharing for individual use. In September of 2003, the RIAA began filing suit against 261 individuals who had been caught using peer-to-peer file sharing” (Adkins).

Since these and other cases of this nature have been filed, systems like Napster have been required to implement safeguards that will both protect property and remove personal liability for the company. They now have programs which attempt to filter copyrighted information and prevent its unauthorized distribution. A good rule of thumb for the user is that if you did not purchase an original, in the case, product or one that comes with a registration code, do not use it. By purchasing or downloading, boot legged copies of movies, music or even papers you as an individual set yourself up to possible lawsuits which can be time consuming and extremely costly.

Works Cited

Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials (2005, March). UT System, Retrieved September 15, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm

Adkins, R. Court Cases. The Law and File Sharing. Retrieved September 15, 2009 from the World Wide Web: https://webspace.utexas.edu/rra56/cases.htm