Wk1 Blog Comments: Golda Lawson-Cohen

Comments on Golda Lawson-Cohen's Wk1 Reading Copyright Blog:
Original comments posted HERE

Hi Golda, Thank you for the nice concise recap of correct and incorrect way to use copyrighted work.  In future post I would love to hear more of your point of view on the readings and rather than just a recap on the reading itself. For example: How do you feel about the rights of artists to use copyrighted work for the art of remixing? I feel that if an artist re-purposes and reinterprets and artists work to create something completely new and different than what the original work was trying to convey than I think this should be OK. Also how do you feel about the new invention of the creative commons use on artist work? Is it a good idea to have varying degrees of use dependent on the author, or one giant overseeing law for everyone like the copyright is. These would be some very interesting point to add some commentary on.

-Joe Marquez

Original Posting By Golda Lawson-Cohen:
For Original posting Click Here

Week 1 – Copyright Issues

Copyrightable materials are those works, which can either be audio, artwork, books, plays, movies, or video. The important part about a copyright is that only the owner of the copyright may reuse the work without permission. Items that can be copyrighted are books, plays, films or movies, dances, and music. A copyright lasts for the owner’s lifetime plus 70 years. If a company owns a copyright, it lasts for a 100 years. For example, if the local little theater group presents a Shakespearian play they would not be in violation of copyright laws given that Mr. Shakespeare has been dead for quite some time.

Fair use occurs when copyrighted material is used in the following circumstances: teaching, news, reporting, political comment, and benefit to society. It includes the use of properly cited literary works, pictures, and music. Fair use does not receive royalties or monetary compensation. Furthermore, fair use is not a right but rather a legal defensible position in invoked when using copyrighting materials. For example, an educator wants to use a piece of work as part of  their lesson plan. This would be fair use since there was no other way to present the material without that item.