Copyright Week

Authors, musicians, artists, and all creators should be able to lay claim to their intellectual property and original work if they choose. These creators, for the most part, should be able to be the ones who benefit from their creations, or at least choose who benefits from their creations. Copyright law exists to protect the creator’s rights to their work. Important exceptions to copyright apply for the greater benefit of society, and to preserve the ability of others to critique, study, and teach about the ideas of others even when copyright is in place. Without these exceptions, our society would miss out on many important and in-depth interactions with copyrighted material. The fair use exception to copyright allows more people to meaningfully interact with important copyrighted material in instructional settings. Opening up these resources to teachers can give students more rich learning experiences through diverse text and resource sets.

Copyright law is evolving each day as technology, media, and the definition of published expands each day. The platforms through which teachers can share resources, how to create protections, and the ephemeral nature of the internet are all considerations for fair use exemptions. This evolving set of factors creates a need to constantly revisit and question our compliance with copyright and what actually falls under the umbrella of fair use. Fortunately, our librarians are awesome stewards of our media and knowledge of copyright. They are important guides on our instructional and information journey.

It is important to model for our students and discuss copyright and intellectual property so that they may respect the laws as they become remixers, creators, and transformers. Having those important conversations about how some real person is at the creation end of whatever material they are using (or bootlegging), and the impact fair use and paid distribution have on their income, welfare, and ability to continue creating. One day they may be creators relying on a royalty check.

After reading the Hudson Institute’s White Paper on the Library of Congress and the Copyright Office, I felt very strongly that the librarians should absolutely be in charge of keeping safe the rights of those who create the material who the librarians so proudly preserve (Tepp and Oman, 2015). The notion of privatizing the preservation of the artifacts culture(s) that exist throughout our country made me worried. If only the parts culture that are deemed important enough to get documented and preserved are chosen by the wealthy supporters of the library, then the preserved culture will only reflect what is valued by a small segment of our society. We, as a country, are supposed to be moving towards visibility and representation of all groups.
The fair use exemption to copyright is important in building a rich learning experience for students, while copyright gives opportunity for a lesson in civic and social responsibility.
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References
Tepp, S. & Oman, R. (2015).  A 21st Century Copyright Office: The Conservative Case for Reform (white paper).  Hudson Institute, Center for the Economics of the Internet. Retrieved from https://www.hudson.org/research/11772-a-21st-century-copyright-office-the-conservative-case-for-reform