Copyright Law

I will refrain from linking the videos we watched in class regarding copyright law, suffice it to say that they were horrendous, painful to watch.

I understand that copyright is and important thing, and that people deserve to make money from the work they do, but I find it hard to take it seriously. I generally rest easy in the fact that good people, who do not have malicious intent to do not face punishment for copyright violation.

If the laws were less confusing, it would be easier to be mindful of them. For example, you can show your class a video of a program you taped from television, but only if it's less than a month old. Now come on, if it's a good video, and the class learns from it, why can't I show it again next year? The truth is, I will.

I have no intention of stealing anyone's work, or distributing materials that I know I should not, but I do intend to continue with the "teacher's policy" of beg, borrow, and steal (but cite). I think the TEACH Act does a decent job of placing protections for teacher's to use material if they are just trying to help kids learn. Overall, I'm not to concerned, but if I have doubts about the legality of my use, I will reference the TEACH Act.