It is obvious from the many videos, articles, papers, lawsuits, and debates currently happening around the world that copyright laws need to be revised in order to balance the rights of educators to use digital content (Fair Use) and the responsibility to honor creators' intellectual rights (Copyright) in the Web 2.0 world of creation and collaboration.
Problems
I found the white paper, The Digital Learning Challenge: Obstacles to Educational uses of Copyrighted Material in the Digital Age, published by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, that explored "whether innovative educational uses of digital technology were hampered by the restrictions of copyright.” extremely informative. Their research identified four key obstacles current copyright law creates for educators:
1 Unclear or inadequate copyright law relating to crucial provisions such as fair use and educational use; This is why rulings are so unpredictable and sometimes swayed by the judge's moral stance. "Fair use involves subjective judgments and are often affected by factors such as a judge or jury 's personal sense of right or wrong." (From Standford University's website on Copyright & Fair Use.)
2. Extensive adoption of “digital rights management” technology to lock up content;
3. Practical difficulties obtaining the right to use content when licenses are necessary;
4. Undue caution by gatekeepers such as publishers or educational administrators.
Solutions
As with the privacy issue faced by educators and students tapping into the digital power of Web 2.0, there are legal, technological and self-regulatory steps we need in order to tackle the current problems.
Legal: These steps would include amendments to the Copyright law, rewriting the TEACH Act, reducing statutory damages for educational infringement, and reforming licensing much like Creative Commons has done.
Technological: These steps would include using tools ("automated interactive licensing) that facilitate getting copyright clearance. “Digital tools could automate and lubricate much of the clearance process, from analyzing whether a license is necessary to securing a license if required.”
Self-regulatory: These steps, which educators can and should tackle immediately are
1. Defining and developing educator best-practices in the use of digital content. Some examples are . . . I would add that as groups of educators define and develop common agreements, they need to first and foremost build common understanding using such excellent sources as the following:
- Lesson plans on teaching about Copyright and Fair Use from Temple University's Media Lab
- Copyright, What's Copyright Video
- User's Rights, Section 107 Video
- MIT's introduction course to Copyright
- Creative Commons videos to build understanding
Conclusion
Digital content offers incredible, unprecedented opportunities for teaching and learning around the world. If we are to truly tap into this rich resource, we need to confront the obstacles mentioned in the Berkman paper. As educators we can no longer sit back and wait for others to take action, we need to be involved in the legal, technological, and personal steps necessary to turn this powerful potential into a shared creative and collaborative culture.
