An Introduction to Copyright
This module was written for INF 312, Information in Cyberspace, a course at the University of Texas at Austin School of Information.
This module and the related copyright interviews are also available for public viewing, accessible through the World Wide Web and available under a Creative Commons license. We'll talk about the Creative Commons later on in the module.
This work, like the rest of the class, contains materials from and references to others' works. The people who created those parts of the module own the copyright to the parts they created. I own the copyright to the parts I create. Other instructors and assistants own the parts that they create. The School of Information owns the overall compilation of materials for the class. You own the things that you create. How do you get copyright protection? Can other people use the things you create? This module is about all of these ideas.
Something to note:
I'm not one of the regular 312 instructors this semester! My name is Carlos Ovalle. You've already read some of the things I've written. I wrote a lot of the stuff in the Introduction to Unix and Linux and the Security modules, and you've heard me in some of the tutorials. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about the module. Here's my contact info:
AIM: i312co
Email: i312co@ischool.utexas.edu
Phone: 471-2701
Office: SZB 454 (next to the IT Lab)
Email is the best way to get ahold of me, but I'm often online and/or in my office M-F. Of course, your hard-working instructors, GAs, and UAs are available as always.
There has been a lot of material written about copyright. Even experts disagree about the particulars, and keep that in mind as you go through the module! Reasonable people will disagree on some points. I'll try to point out specific instances that are contentious. That being said, THIS MODULE IS ONLY A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT. Given the time constraints that students have for this module, we can't delve too deeply. Copyright law is complex. I find it absolutely fascinating, and I hope you will too. ^_^ This module is a starting place—somewhere to start getting ideas about what copyright law is and where you can explore your thoughts and feelings about copyright law. I encourage and welcome your comments and feedback. I'm interested in what you think about the subject.
Copyright is an important subject. It comes up more and more often in our daily lives, in ways that are sometimes not immediately obvious. We'll take a look at trends in copyright law and a little bit about how copyright in the US is different from copyright in other countries. We're going to talk about what copyright is, what the exceptions to copyright are, and how the Internet and digital materials have changed some of our thoughts about copyright, as well as the effects of certain new technologies such as Peer-to-Peer file sharing. I'll also provide a few stories about copyright and copyright related lawsuits.
Objectives
After completing this module, you should be able to:
- determine what rights creators of original works have
- understand what you can do with others' copyrighted works
- know how digital copyright is different from traditional copyright
- discuss the importance of copyright
- come up with many more questions about copyright and intellectual property ^_^
- And most importantly, I'd like to impart that we should Respect Copyright, and Respect Copyright Exemptions.
Obligatory Legal Disclaimer!
Note that this module contains my own personal opinions! My views do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Texas, the School of Information, or the other instructors of INF 312. I will try to point out some of the more controversial views of law and where opinions differ. And, although we're talking about law and some legal issues, keep in mind that famous acronym: IANAL! I am not a lawyer! If you have need of legal advice, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your area. The information provided here is for general purposes, to provide a jumping off point for copyright discussions and to promote awareness of the subject. UT Legal Counsel has reviewed this module.
About You
You are viewing this site with an unrecognized browser on a machine running an unrecognized platform.
Your IP address is 38.107.191.111.
