Intellectual Property
Legal Use and Concerns
Authored by University of Illinois CTER5 Cohort members Valarie Pozen, Heather Shore, Kathy Hickey,
Elise Johnson, and Tonya Dieken.
This project was an assignment with the Ethical and Policy Issues in Information Technologies, (EPS 313) taught by Nicholas Burbules of the CTER program at the University of Illinois-Urbana/Champaign.
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"Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce." |
As educators, we travel down a difficult path each day with budgetary restraints and an abundance of seemingly free information found on the Internet. For most incidences involving print found in texts, and audio found on compact discs, the issues of copyright infringement or Intellectual Property (IP) are clear as to use, however information found on the Internet is not always used correctly and legally. This is a large budget and ethical concern for the state of Illinois. As legal issues unfold regarding the appropriate use of Intellectual Property, schools may be faced with lawsuits and public scrutiny for the unethical use of IP as well as negligence in educating students on the appropriate use of Intellectual Property.
Writing is an area of focus on standardized tests and therefore taught in all academic areas. Students are taught how to accurately cite borrowed work from hard copy. However, educators and students are often unaware of how to ethically use Intellectual Property. Does artwork from a website require citing, and when does fair use apply to the classroom? Technology has many uses in the classroom but how far is the educator expected to investigate as to whether a crime has been committed with regard to Intellectual Property and what course of action should the educator take. It is our group's goal to share information and examples of the varied types of Intellectual Property and the legal descriptions available for its implementation.
Our group's recommendation to the state of Illinois is to take a proactive approach; educate the educators, and the lessons will make it to the classrooms. Our proposal is a mandated class for all Illinois public school teachers on the appropriate and ethical use of Intellectual Property. This paper will outline the major areas of IP to justify the impending need for all districts to require ethical and appropriate use of IP. The areas covered will include IP Theft, Fair Use, Copyright law and Educational In-service.
| IP Theft | The theft of Intellectual Property is so much more than plagiarism! This area of our web site focuses on three types of theft that occur with regard to not only the Internet, but technology and its uses in general. Learn about the lengths to which legislation will go to protect individual ideas and the various means of law that have been created to prevent, or discourage, unauthorized users from portraying other's work as their own. |
| Fair Use | Can you name the four factors of consideration when determining fair use of a document, a clip art, or an audio file? This area of our web site informs the user on the Copyright Act of 1976 and the reasons why it is still relevant almost thirty years later. Teachers do have some usability of copyrighted materials on a shoestring budget if their purpose meets with all four factors outlined--this may be the area to be referenced as a guide for use within curriculums in a school district. |
| Copyright Law | Are your aware that copyright infringement as an individual can cost you thousands of dollars and jail time--or are you exempt since you are an educator? This area of our web site focuses on laws passed more recently, court cases that have challenged new and existing laws, and the verdicts and sentences that have been awarded. This section continues discussion of the Copyright Act of 1976 and provides examples of when it has been violated and when it has been used legally. |
| Educator In-service | It is the view of this group that a great deal of information with regard to Intellectual Property needs to be taught to the educators, particularly in our state, Illinois. It is highly encouraged by school districts to improve test scores and the quality of education through the use of technology integrated into curriculums. This area of our web site outlines educator needs and proposes a method for carrying the information to all school districts. |
| Conclusion | Our group has gathered information and would like to make a recommendation with regard to the importance of Intellectual Property literacy for educators. This area of our site will highlight important facts from other sections of information and summarize the needs of teachers as we see them. |
| Resources | If you would prefer to read more about the topics we have included in our project site, this page lists references compiled by the group, and is categorized by topic for further investigation. |
| Contacts | For information about reaching group members, please see this page for email addresses to each of the group members. |
| Introduction | IP Theft | Fair Use | Copyright Law |
| Educator In-service | Conclusion | Resources | Contacts |