Copyright for Teachers

The most surprising thing to me about copyright laws is that these laws are broken so often by totally unsuspecting, well-meaning people.  Trying to save a buck here or provide materials for all kids in a classroom with a smaller than small budget can get teachers into a lot of trouble.

The difficulty I have with trying to understand the laws about copyrighting is that the determinations made in court cases regarding copyright issues seem to vary to such a degree that it is difficult to see where the true lines are drawn in the law.  The biggest example we were given of this was in copyright laws that pertain to music.  One group was allowed to keep music that clearly sounded like the original piece of music and was easily identifiable as a copy of the original, while another musician was fined for taking 4 notes from an original song.  Those 4 notes were not obvious in the 2nd version, and the 2 songs did not sound alike.   Then it was ruled that "Saturday Night Live" could take an actual tune and just change the words of the song. 

I'm glad I don't work in the entertainment industry, I'm not sure I would know what to do to keep myself out of legal trouble.

I have seen many copyright laws violated - copying parts of books, videos being shown that had audio clips added, videos shown to groups of children without copyright fees being paid.  It would be my guess (without verifying with the "guilty" parties) that in all of these situations the individuals did not know they were violating any copyright laws.  I don't believe there is enough copyright education available to those of us who are using these materials on a regular basis.

Do I think it is my job to teach copyright respect to my students?  It depends on the age group I am teaching.  I don't know that I would drill this home, but I would certainly make reference to these issues whenever we are interacting with technology tools that have copyright laws assigned to them.  I would not want these students to become the "unsuspecting, well-meaning" individuals who find themselves in a legal bind at some point in the future.