Patricia Aufderheide and Peter Jaszi (2011) made a
compelling argument for fair use in their book Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright. In
chapter seven, they explained the licensing and copyright issues confronting
documentary filmmakers. These filmmakers were supposed to be documenting
culture and yet they changed the appearance of the culture they filmed in order
to ensure they were not infringing on any copyrighted material. The reason they
engaged in this behavior was to ensure their films could be insured because
without insurance, they would have no market. Their subsequent efforts to draft a statement outlining best practices
for fair use and the success they achieved created a sense of hope that in the
madness of the copyright chaos fair use could become a powerful tool. I think
Aufderheide and Jaszi should be commended for encouraging and helping various
groups identify best practices within their fields for implementing fair use.
In chapter eight, the authors revealed that the guidelines
currently being promoted by librarians and educators were based on faulty
guidelines that were supported by the industries who would be best served by
limited use of fair use. These guidelines, while not part of the 1976 revision
of the Copyright Act, became associated with the law because they were read
into the congressional record. Because they favored a strict interpretation
that limited the use of fair use, the holders of copyright continued to promote
the guidelines as the definitive word on how to interpret fair use. Educators
and librarians ability to perform their jobs was affected. The development of a
code of best practices to be used when implementing media in education helped
to create a new environment for teachers where they could teach using
appropriate material and educate their students on how to use fair use to
create new works of culture.
The book, Reclaiming
Fair Use changed how I viewed copyright and fair use. If I could, I would
create a code of best practices for advisors and other staff in higher
education. We too teach and influence college students on a regular basis. I
have learned about amazing ways to use technology to teach and yet there
remains a fear that I or my students will infringe on copyright if I assign a
project using technology. In a sense, my
ability to teach students is being hampered just as documentary filmmakers and
educators were. While there are similarities in teaching and advising, I would
hesitate to assume I could use the same best practices as teachers since I am
working with adults and not children.
According to Aufderheide and Jaszi, Fair use is a valuable
tool that needs to become a part of our culture once again. Even though copyright
laws have become stronger, fair use is as much a right as copyright. Their book outlines how to ensure fair use is
implemented appropriately. It also clears up where the confusion started and
how to end it. The key element of the book is the idea that any group or
individual can, with education, learn how to employ fair use to create. I am encouraged that even though locked up by
copyright, our culture is still free to be used to create new works.
Tamie,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your thoughts on fair use this week! I think your coverage of fair use in the classroom was very well done. I believe that your opinions on fair use are probably echoed by many educators. I know that I, for one, appreciate being protected to a certain extent by fair use laws that allow me to use material for an educational purpose. I also agree with you that fair use should be something that “becomes a part of our culture once again”. We are most successful as a society if we build upon existing ideas. The idea that copyright law can sometimes cause people to have to recreate the wheel is infuriating. While I agree that copyright law is necessary in society, I also believe that fair use should be taught to the same level that copyright is.
Tamie,
ReplyDeleteI think it would be a great idea to create a code of best practices for advisors and other staff of higher education to use with the students that you influence. It’s interesting that you bring up your option to use the same fair use practices as the teachers in the book but then wonder if they will work in the setting with the adults you work with. I too wonder if some of these practices are transferable. I really think it is a case by case basis and has to be looked at with each assignment that is create with copyrighted content. I had a difficult time with the material as I just couldn’t understand how so much effort could be put into creating codes of best practices and still have to live in fear that you “could” somehow infringe on someone’s copyrights. While they do seem to offer simple solutions that can be followed there still is a huge risk. It is a scary thought to have to prepare yourself to go through years of court to prove that you had a right to use the content under fair use guidelines. I wonder, with time, if fair use will become a practice that is understood and its application less confusing.
Tamie,
ReplyDeleteYou did well using specifics to back up what you were saying about the book. I can see how what you are writing in your blog could serve you well for writing your paper. The point about documentary filmmakers having to change what they did to suit copyright is a good one to focus on. While we need to respect the work of creative people, it’s also important to have a society that is free to comment on itself. I mean free in both senses. If only the people who can afford to pay for licenses or lawyers are able to integrate current media into their documentaries, then we silence a lot of voices. So I was glad to be reminded of chapter 7 and I too think the authors of the book should be commended for their work to help documentary filmmakers.
I teach online so I share your concern for infringing on copyright law. Most of the work I do is contained in my online classroom, but to take full advantage of the web you need to sometimes make things public. The only time I have run into trouble was when I uploaded a song to YouTube to go along with a presentation. I had used the whole song and I immediately was given a warning. For the most part I am not too concerned with my students getting into trouble for copyright violations, but Reclaiming Fair Use does motivate me to teach my students more about copyright law. I agree with you that fair use needs to be part of our culture again. We need a balance between respecting the creative works of others and not being too afraid to create our own works. We also need to be able to inspire our students to do the same, legally that is.
By the way, I'm using Blogger too. How are you liking it?
The most powerful statement for me was that you are not only worried that YOU will break copyright but that you might be advising students inadvertently to do so also. Not only does this stifle your own creativity but it also impacts future generations of students. These students, as we have seen in past books we have read this term, have grown up with this technology and thinking it is alright to make use of it-- now we have to attempt to reign them in in effort to avoid infringing on copyright.
ReplyDeleteIt is much easier to teach someone rules and how to follow them than to teach them creativity. I am afraid we are taking an entire generation (and beyond) down the wrong path all because of fear of copyright law. Fair Use, best practices, public understanding and knowledge-- these things cannot come soon enough!
Hi Tamie,
ReplyDeleteYour idea about making a code of practice for higher education is a great idea. I wonder if there are efforts, on a smaller scale than creative commons, to share materials between higher education professionals. In the college athletic arena, niche groups are finding ways to provide access in a fair and reliable way. When it comes to film exchange, there is high value for one team to access another team's previous performances. Although this access is a little different, there are now companies and conference policies regarding 'fair usage' and sharing of such content. If we can't impact laws on a grander scale, I wonder if these types of niche group sharing, smaller than creative commons, would assist in unblocking creative barriers.
With your comment, "I think Aufderheide and Jaszi should be commended for encouraging and helping various groups identify best practices within their fields for implementing fair use," you took the words right out of my mouth! Codes of best practices are a way to create solidarity and more importantly, they are a way to implore people to exercise their rights to create and use other work to a reasonable degree. The development of best practice codes is imperative to keeping a firm hold on the rights that we still have (and maybe even gaining some back).
ReplyDelete"The book, Reclaiming Fair Use changed how I viewed copyright and fair use." I couldn't agree more with this statement. It's not often that I finish a book and feel empowered to exercise rights that I never really understood that I had, but that was the case with A & J. I really just thought the laws were against me and that was that. Knowing that this isn't the case inspires me to push the limits of my rights. While I don't really want to end up being sued for using copyright material, I would kind of enjoy the opportunity to defend rights that I felt I had.
One area that I don't completely agree with you on is at the end of your post when you discuss A & J outlining how to accurately implement fair use. While I feel that A & J do address this, I think it can be done better and appeal to a different audience. I feel that fair use needs to be pushed to middle and high school students so they grow up with an in-tact, accurate, understanding of fair use. Educating the younger populations is key to starting a shift in the culture.