I honestly thought I knew a lot more going into this research about copyright laws then I actually did. When I worked for a couple different hotel companies we played outdoor movies and had to
I honestly thought I knew a lot more going into this research about copyright laws then I actually did. When I worked for a couple different hotel companies we played outdoor movies and had to pay for the licensing of only certain ones, and you would be amazed at the agreements I would get into with different bosses having to explain why we couldn’t just play anything we wanted to. (1)That being said, while researching Copyrights, the issue that jumped out at me and hooked me was ‘The Golden Rule’ when dealing with the ‘Fair Use’ rule.
In the Supreme Court case Harper & Row v The Nation the copyright ‘Golden Rule’ was coined: “Take not from other to such an extent and in such a manner that you would be resentful if they so took from you.” (2)
In this ruling and many more after it the courts have held that the more original and creative a work is, the more protection it’s given and the less likely that a court will find it falling under the ‘fair use’ rule. This includes movies, books, music, all of it. Now if you are taking from a work that is more informational or functional then it has a better chance of falling under then wider scope of the fair use defense. (3)
I have many friends that break copyright laws all the time when you think of it in the following way. Would your use of the material in the way you plan to use it, hurt the creator’s ability to sell and market their work? (4) This is truly a thin line for most people to walk when it comes to different content. I think that as a professional I will be directing fellow educators and guest doing projects towards the open licensed items. I honestly never even heard of any of the following until it was brought up in research, and now they will be my go to first sites. This includes: Project Gutenburg, The Internet Archive, and LibriVox. (5)
Now knowing what I know, first off I need to research so much more about Copyrights for sure, before helping others. Second, I need to be sure careful and learn about how to correctly use reference citing for my school research.
- Motion Picture Licensing Corporation. (1996-2020) About Copyright Law. https://www.mplc.org/page/about-copyright-law
- O’Connor, S. D. & Supreme Court Of The United States. (1984) U.S. Reports: Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprises, 471 U.S. 539 . [Periodical] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/usrep471539/.
- Crash Course . (2015, May 7) Copyright, Exceptions, and Fair Use: Crash Course Intellectual Property #3. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_9O8J9skL0
- Stim, R. & Farkas, B. (2020) The ‘Fair Use’ Rule: When Use of Copyrighted Material Is Acceptable. In Encyclopedia of NOLO Legal. https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/fair-use-rule-copyright-material-30100.html
- Royce Kimmons. (2016, May 11) Copyright Basics for Teachers. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9H6Ksp36q0
