Copyright Law and New Technologies

Review of the Article “Copyright Law and New Technologies,
Part 3 of an Educational World Series on Copyright and Fair Use.” (Starr)

This article on “Copyright Law and New Technologies” speaks to copyright status and use of Web pages. It reviews issues concerning Web resources and categories of software. There are two types of original works that are not covered by copyright law; those that are non-copyright protected, such as governmental, and those that reside in the public domain. Many of the laws governing new technologies predate software technologies. Good intent and common sense are important when considering using of original works and asking for permission.
Most countries protect Web pages by copyright law or regulation. Many countries participate in an international treaty which protects copyrights, the Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works. The Berne Treaty, refined in Paris in 1971, addresses literally every type of work potentially posted on the Web including broadcasts, recitations, sound recordings, film and other artistic and literary works.
Posting copyrighted material to a personal Web site without investigating its copyright status may be viewed as an infringement upon the author's potential revenue. In certain circumstances, posting links, particularly copying html codes to an inside page may be an infringement. Copying illustrations to a personal Web site should be avoided. When determining if a multimedia resource or a book is in the public domain, it should be associated with a corresponding print resource as much as possible. If there is doubt, ask permission because not all Web materials and pages have corresponding print resources.
All software is protected by copyright law in the United States. Of the several types of software, each is governed by a slightly different set of regulations. The governing nuisances between commercial software, shareware, and freeware are considered. In regard to software applications in the educational setting, generally speaking use is limited to licensure, time, and absolutely no monetary involvement.
I found this article to be most interesting of the three I read in this series. I have a limited understanding now why some workplace programs are unavailable due to the small number of licenses purchased. I have never considered searching for a corresponding print resource to a Web page. I will be careful not copy a site’s html code into a work product. I have learned that as important as citing and giving credit is, it does not substitute for permission; copyrights may yet be infringed upon.
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Work Cited
Starr, Linda. “Is Fair Use a License to Steal? Part 2 of an Education World
Series on Copyright and Fair Use.” Education World. 2004. 31 Oct. 2008
<http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280c.shtml>.
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