Wk 1 Readings - Copyright

Photo Credits: Francine Jackson, TJ Ambassodors of Sound 2010

This week's readings, video lectures and videos were rather enlightening! An IDEA cannot be copyrighted and now copyrights can last forever. Wow! What an eye opener for me! The subject of copyright is one that I am familiar with, in that I am a Choral Music Educator.  When I hold discussions with high school learners about piracy and copyright issues, most of them are clueless when it comes to downloading movies and music. Even though I am fully aware of copyright and the plethora of problems that come with using music samples and or video clips for music videos and other media, viewing the videos was quite educational for me.  Lack of interest can cause us to lose focus on some of the components of our profession at times. However, I have gained a whole new perspective about copyright, and the stringent laws that are involved.   Many times the propensity of those of us who constantly download music and videos without giving a thought to copyright can be considered unintentional in some instances. However, most people do the crime knowingly, but have no thoughts about doing the time.

The notion of Fair Use is not new to me. But honestly I had no idea of how this affected copyrighted materials and media. The Shepard Fairey case and the Obama poster was interesting, but certainly Shepard augmented the photo and used it, not intentionally perhaps to enhance his financial condition, but he did gain substantial amounts of income from it.  I believe that he should pay the original creator for producing this media for the world to share.

The issue of Dr. Kings "Eyes on the Prize" documentary and the fact that it is out of circulation because of astronomical fees attached to it to retain licensing is very disheartening. Much of the African American history is not passed on now to subsequent generations of this culture because it is not taught in public education and possibly not in many of the higher institutions of learning.  What is the solution? How do we continue to allow this to happen?  Does re-licensing for all important historical truths have to pay extortionate licensing fees? Just asking!! No harm to anyone intended.  

The concept of Creative Commons (CC) by Mayer and Bettle made it plain for me. I am looking forward to visiting the websites for the online music community since I am an avid musician.  Cute and to the point! Also Professor Bustillos recap of the video helped me to have a better understanding of CC. The symbols for CC are great for those of us who are visual learners. As one spokesperson put it, "Creative Commons allows us to move away from thinking about content, to thinking about communities; communities develop around content, the sharing that the license allows these communities to come together."