Copyright and Homeschoolers

A good friend of mine posted a link to a blog discussion about the “cut & paste” functionality Apple is touting in its commercials for the latest iPhone.  The discussion began with an entry that stated:

Is Apple not aware that by copying and pasting an entire article and sending it via email that they are endorsing and encouraging people to commit plagiarism and/or violate copyright laws and commit copyright infringement?

Apple iPhone is encouraging people to break the law, as though they don’t even know what the law is themselves. They NEED to consult their legal department, or else, we need to tell them clearly–do not endorse plagiarism and copyright infringement!

Those of us who write articles on the web, particularly those who are paid via revenue share and/or page views/performance, this would affect our bottom line.

Michelle L Devon, “The iPhone Encourages Copyright Infringement and Plagiarism?“

In reactions to Michelle’s post a number of people have taken the viewpoint that, as long as they’re not copying an article and engaging in mass redistribution (copyright infringement – even with attribution) or claiming authorship of it (plagiarism) it’s perfectly fine to keep the copy for personal use, or to send it along to a friend. It’s easy to think this way: Everybody does it, and since I’m not making a commercial gain or doing anything to harm the author’s reputation, it’s OK to use their material any way that my technology will allow me to. This isn’t breaking the law, and it’s not hurting anyone.

Michelle points out that both plagiarism and copying are legal violations (with the exception of “fair use”.) Both acts can cause financial harm to online authors whose revenues are tied to page views – and many of these authors are parents like us, trying to make a few extra dollars by writing while they stay home to raise or educate their children. It may be time for us all to think about how we can balance our need for accessible, inexpensive teaching resources with the best interests of those who create them.

In a second post Michelle clarifies her objections to the promotion of copying and pasting an article in its entirety:

It is okay to share a small snippet of a few lines, along with a link to the article directly and attribution to the author and publisher. It is NOT okay to email the entire article to yourself or someone else – PERIOD.

“More About the iPhone and Copyright Infringment“

Those of us who blog need to educate ourselves about how to refer to another person’s writing (the snippet and link with attribution, as mentioned above) and to put this into practice when we want to share a wonderful idea or a fantastic recipe, or whatever.

Those of us who use technology in educating our children at home also have a responsibility to investigate the copyright laws in our respective jurisdictions. Some educational uses are covered by what is commonly called “fair use” clauses (“fair dealing” in Canada and some other jurisdictions.)

For example, you may have the right to copy a TV show and then play it for your student(s) at a later time. But once viewed the copy should be destroyed: if you want to keep the show for later viewing with a future student or students, you should make another arrangement such as rental, borrowing from the library, or purchase of the DVD.

Similarly, while printed material or hypertext may sometimes be given to students without obtaining licensing, there are limitations for educators on how much of the content is used this way (e.g. one poem from an anthology vs an entire book, one copy vs multiple copies, etc.) Fair dealing takes into account a number of different criteria, but the underlying goal is to protect the rights of the author or creator to dictate how the work will be used, and to act in the best interests of the author with respect to revenues that are generated from its use.

I hope you will take the time to read both Michelle’s posts at Freelancing & Fiction with Michelle L Devon, and to share this information about copying and pasting with others. This is an excellent opportunity to reflect on where we are obtaining our educational materials, and whether we are observing copyright in our use of these materials. Many educational materials are available free online in streaming format, many texts can be had in public domain hypertext or human read audio. your local library may have copies of the materials you need. These are all legal ways to obtain teaching materials that are sometimes copied and sent around by email, or burned onto disc for another homeschooler. In the case of an online article a page is easily bookmarked for student use, or a link can be sent by email to another home educator. This allows free access, but does not deprive the creator of their income.

If you blog and are in doubt about how to share or attribute another person’s creations (articles, photos, computer graphics, etc.) do contact them. Most people are thrilled to be asked, and will often grant you permission to copy in full as long as you give them attribution and a link. If in doubt about “fair use” look into your country’s copyright laws. They’re probably available online for you to consult.

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Tags: advertising, Apple iPhone, copyright, fair use, plagiarism