I may be in the minority, but it just makes me want to break the law, just out of spite. Am I the only one who thinks in this deviant manner? I hate thinking about the fact that one day (in the not-so-distant-future), it may come to choosing lawlessness just to educate my students (and children). And in some cases, it stems from greed. The selfishness of people never ceases to amaze me. Don't get me wrong. I understand and firmly believe that copyright laws are meant to secure and guarantee that the "form" of someone's idea needs to be protected, but I also believe that we need to exercise some kind of common sense, and that is where we have fallen off the wagon and let wisdom fall by the wayside. There needs to be a balance.
Unfortunately, unless something is done to stop the madness, it will only continue to spiral out of control and before long, we won't be listening or watching (or dancing - who knew?) to anything that isn't our OWN idea because the copyright laws will be so ridiculous that no one will be able to afford to produce any type of work due to the burden of copyright.
This certainly has me thinking. I'm sensing some action needs to be taken here and I'm going to think about what my role will be in taking it.
Karen I hear what you are saying and had the same reaction after viewing the film. It worries me that so many things can be lost because of something that is intended to protect people who create the work. The history piece is one that I never really thought of. Copyright seems to be something that everyone knows about, but not many understand it. I too feel overwhelmed with all of the rules and it never occurred to me that something so important could just disappear because the time has run out. It makes me sick to think that the money to restore the copyright is half a million dollars. What does that say about our society? I bet that if more people knew this was happening there would be more outrage. I am interested to see what will happen and would love to hear your thoughts on what role you could take.
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ReplyDeleteKaren Sigmon, robbery is a great way to view this. I agree that our government is operating without boundaries and common sense and they are also robbing our students of their ability to learn and we the people are going to suffer the consequences.
ReplyDeleteAs far as feeling compelled to break the law, I agree with you. It gets so complicated and convoluted that you just give up and do what you think is right, fair and just. That takes some justification but I think we are correct. Let’s hope that in the future we won’t have to ponder this question and lose time and energy over our decisions. We will just have the freedom to create a new form of art or expression and expose our students to those displays so that they may continue the stream of imagination.
Here is an irony, as we are studying copyright, I lose my Internet signal. Do I have a moral dilemma right now? A storm came through the area and I have lost my Internet providers signal. They are working on it but it has now been 24 hours. I must have the Internet because of this class. It is the weekend, I have no alternate access to the Internet until I get to school and then I need to hope that where I want to go is not blocked.
As I try to create a connection I have a drop down menu that allows me to see who else around me has a signal and if it is blocked or not. I can’t access the ones that are blocked, but can I, should I connect to an open signal. At one point I did not block my signal because I didn’t mind sharing. I do now because of security. Is it okay for me to connect? Is that other person forward thinking and sharing, like I once did, or are they ignorant of how to block? Am I then taking advantage of them? Are they allowing me?
Because I have a high need now and the reality of a deadline, I am choosing “to ride the wave”, and catch that neighbors signal, that’s what neighbors are for anyway, right? Since it only works outside, I also hope it doesn’t rain.
When did society get so complex? Or was it always that way and I blissfully never noticed? Or, is it EMDT’s fault? After all, they have opened my mind up to so many things.
Karen, I completely agree! I, too, was shocked by the knowledge that many of these great documentaries will "go out of print" and will no longer be offered to the public in any way. It seems incredible to me that one verse of the “Happy Birthday” song costs $15,000 to use. That is ridiculous. I believe people should be able to make money from their creative works, but a half of a million dollars just to present a well-made documentary is outrageous. WOW! We are truly losing parts of our history due to the outdated laws. There needs to be some sort of creative solution that allows us to keep our history alive. The changing face of the way that we receive information changes so rapidly in this day and age. Why don’t the laws that govern original works change as well? There needs to be some creative solutions, common sense needs to be used, or at the very least some exceptions to the rule must be made when it comes to educational materials.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I completely agree with your line of thought about having to break the law to educate our students! I agree the law is there for a reason, but the folks making the laws are only thinking about it from one side of the coin. I really don't think, the lawmakers have thought of the aspect that history will be lost because people won't pay to use the items. I truly believe copyright and patents are needed. I loved exploring the patent museum at the Smithsonian - so cool. While Working at the patent office, I bet even Einstein never thought, the world would become so complex.
ReplyDeleteGreat interaction with this week's subject... Indeed, something must be done. I'm hoping that enough of us will get upset enough to counteract the powerful voice of the media companies and find a solution that works for everyone: the artists, the companies and the next generation.
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