Although I was somewhat familiar with the copyright issues in this weeks "readings", the videos we watched really changed my perspective about copyright laws. The videos regarding Fair Use by the documentary filmmakers were a real eye opener for me. I had never considered copyright as a form of censorship until I learned that documentaries regarding controversial issues such as the civil rights movement have been kept from public view by copyright laws. Seeing that documentary filmmakers challenged copyright law with their publication of Best Practices in Fair Use Guidelines, and learning that the Supreme Court at some point agreed with them that Fair Use is really a free speech issue was quite amazing. I found myself wondering if today's supreme court, if it was the first court to examine the issue of Fair Use, would have come to the same conclusion as a more liberal-minded Supreme Court of the past had done.
The idea of Fair Use is based on the notion that access to knowledge and ideas of copyrighted works is essential to the growth and development of a free society. Somewhere in the videos about Fair Use, it is stated that if the benefits to society outweighs the financial or other loss/damage to the content creator when one uses a copyrighted work, than that use should be deemed Fair Use. This notion really stuck in my mind. There is a famous quote that states "I stand upon the shoulders of giants who stood before me." Many know this quote, but few know that it was originated in a speech Sir Isaac Newton gave to the Royal Academy of Sciences when he became the society's second director. Learning about Fair Use made me think about Newton's words because I am a science teacher, and I can't even imagine what this world would be like today if individual scientists were able to copyright the knowledge they have discovered and prevent others from having that knowledge to analyze and build upon.
The ability to learn from the past, and build upon that knowledge is what makes our species unique on Earth. Copyright Law was originally established as a 14 year right to allow creators of copyrighted works time enough to sell their works and gain adequate compensation to at least cover the costs of producing their works. Today copyrights are life +70 years. Although there are those that may claim that this longer term was imposed to be more fair to content creators from a financial perspective, there is no doubt that the current law has provided the means to censure information and keep the public ignorant of some ideas, facts, and historical events. This is not only shocking, it is wrong.
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Excellent review and analysis of this week's subject. I have to completely agree that the balance of power has moved in the direction of the media companies to the detriment of our culture and children.
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