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Mark's Comments regarding Copyright issues:
I have just viewed the most comprehensive collection of videos concerning copyright I have ever seen. Apart from being amazed by the work that is available on YouTube (I swear, just as soon as I finish my degree I going to spend some serious time surfing videos!) I am struck by how copyright is the best example of how much of a social and cultural transformation we are living through. I find it dynamic, exciting, and fearful all at the same time. For my part, I have played it safe and have had students create their own work. I feel quite justified when I hear independent film makers just as fearful of copyright as I am! But now having a more solid understanding of the entire horizon on the topic, I will be moving my students into creative commons for music, mixes and mashups. “Good Copy, Bad Copy” was amazing! It captures the changing views of culture, society, and creative expression on a global level. As an educator, seeing how certain documentaries are no longer available do to licensing fees I’m horrified. It is a crime to let business dictate the availability of historical documents! One of the most important quotes from the film came at the end when one man openly asked if we should continue to restrict people’s access to information, or give them full access to allow them to learn and gain a much deeper understanding of the context? I’m all for full access.
I have to agree to some extent with the what you share on the historical information piece. To think that not too long ago, and for thousands of years prior, the only way that information made it from one generation to another was in a manner that we would not label plagiarism. I do think that if we are not careful we may lose in the long run. I feel that often as a society we become too protective or fearful of what we consider "bad". I suppose that some could argue that we have have experienced the negative aspects of society which would lead us to be so over-protective. But I agree that restricting people's access will deny them a deeper understanding of the context.
I can't help but wonder if there is not a happy medium. It is sort of like traffic laws, so many laws are just common sense and it simply amazes me that they need to be written into official laws prior to people obeying them. (Of course you should wear a seatbelt, do you need a law to tell you that!) In this case, of course you should not take what you have not created and make money from it, but should we not be able to showcase someone else's creations in order to educate others. Does there need to be so many formalities and litigation over the subject?
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