What does Copyright mean?

What does copyright mean?

 

Copyright symbol was introduced in the United States by a 1954 amendment to copyright act from 1909.

            You probably have come across a copyright symbol at the end of a movie, on a blu ray movie, a cd, pictures and posters. Copyright is a form of protection that covers both published and unpublished works. It protects intellectual property which includes music, all types of literature (poetry, short stories, novels and screenplays).

             

A copy of a copyright form that can be downloaded from www.copyright.gov/

             There are a number of ways an individual can protect their work. The first way would be to log onto www.copyright.gov/. You can fill out a form and file it on line and it will go directly to the copyright office which is in the library of congress in Washington D.C.  Depending on what you are submitting, whether it’s a screenplay, literature, a compilation of material such as poems or short stories, picture or a dvd copy of an independent film, the prices for submitting material will change depending what you choose to have copyright. In the past copyrights were only issued for a length of 14 years, but now it covers the lifetime of the artist plus another 70 years after the authors death.

             

           If you are a writer and have a shoe string budget, then there’s always the cheap man or poor man copyright. This is probably the most common way people will copyright their material. An artist will place the material they wish to have copyright in an envelope. They will bring it to the post office and securely tape the entire envelope. Afterwards the clerk will stamp the date along the tape and where the envelope is sealed. Then the artist can mail the material to themselves. Once they get it, they need to place it in a secure area.

             

            If you write a book, you can license it to a publisher, from there you will get royalties from the publishing company, providing the book does well. Am example would be, George Lucas wrote novels pertaining to episodes 4, 5 and 6. When the book does well, Lucas will continue to get checks in the mail, even if it is years after the book was published, providing the book is still selling.

             

            If a person is interested in using music, film clips, picture(s) or literature for an independent film, TV show or classroom assignment, that person needs to get permission to use that material. A letter needs to be drafted and sent to either the artist or the company where the material is being distributed through. Sometime the companies will grant permission to use the piece that is being requested. I once worked on an independent film and the producer really wanted to have a Bruce Springsteen song in it. No one thought Springsteen would give the ok, but he did and allowed the film to contain a song.

            

            Copyright violations happens when a person or group of people infringe on the copyright. This is when a piece of literature is plagiarized such as photos from a book are being used without permission, a rebroadcast of a professional sporting event without permission. The penalties can range from $200 to $150,000. Then there is also video piracy that is when people illegally download a video over the internet or buy pirated DVDs. If the person who distributes this material gets caught, they could get up to 5 years in prison with fines up to $250,000. Please click link to an advertisement that often plays in movie theaters. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZm8vNHBSU )

             

            Ways to get around using copyright material would be to go to a public domain site to get the material you would need. There are also royalty free web sites a person can tape into film stock, pictures and music. Lots of times the artist will allow to use it as long as they are given credit for the material.

(The preceding information relects the 10 minutes of content I used during my groups 20 minute presentation- David F. Macaluso).   

Electronic Technology Abuse 

           Cyber Bullying, Textual Harrassment & Sexting, Pharming & Phishing and Fair User Practices (FUP) & Copyright Issues all have one thing in common, they are forms of electronic technology abuse. In my opinion they are all serious. With cyber bullying, it means text message or emails that can happen 24/7.  Phishing is a fraudulent attempt to get personal and sensitive information. Pharming is when hackers redirects users to fake websites without them even knowing it. Textual harassment is when someone sends text messages in the form of sexual harassment, Abuse or bullying. Sexting is when a person sends sexually explicit messages or pictures by using the cell phone or instant messenger

Educating your students

          As an educator it's important to teach your students ways of being safe on the Internet, how would you design the lesson and/or activities?

I would start the lesson off by focusing in on the dangers that are in the real world. The students would be asked what they thought of the saying don’t talk to strangers. After a class discussion helping to inform the students what strangers are, I would explain that some strangers are good people and some bad people.

           I would then transition the first part of the lesson, reminding students the do’s and don’ts on how they should conduct themselves on the internet. I will explain to the students that they should never give personal information to a stranger, only answer questions that are safe to answer. Then re-enforce what you taught them and have an assessment of what the students learned by giving them a small test.

References: 

United States Copyright Office - a Department of the Library of Congress. Retrieved June 27, 2015  
http://www.copyright.gov/ 

Cornell Copyright Information Centre (2015, January 1). Retrieved June 27, 2015  
http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm.

Piracy It's a Crime. (December 2007). Retrieved June 27, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmZm8vNHBSU