Student’s Name
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Copyrights
Introduction
The article features the reasons why copyright violations happen in schools and ways that they can be prevented. Copyright violation is a common scenario in many schools despite having many ethical and honest educators. Enforcing copyright policies on audiovisual and printed content has been a simple exercise over the year., however, the introduction of digital content have made everything complicated, because of the illegal and legal uses of intellectual content.
Learning in schools involves using pictures, watching videos, and listening to music, either produced by the school or outside. In most cases, the schools have the copyright owners for all the content they have produced, but they have no permission to use digital content from another person. Using content that they have no copyright ownership can result in lawsuits and compensation. The two big questions in the article remain: Why does the abuse of copyright happen in schools? And what can be done to solve the problem? Well, the article gives answers to these two questions. Some factors influence the educators’ behavior concerning copyright, including misperceptions and ignorance, the convenience or ease of copying, intangibility of digital content, copyright complexity and emotional appeals or poverty, and civil disobedience in reaction to protection. These factors answer the question of why abuse of copyright happens in schools. There has been ongoing training to teachers about copyright; however, many continue to believe in misperceptions. Educators believe that intellectual property is fairly used if it benefits the children, or there is no monetary gain from the content. However, various factors determine the fair use of intellectual property, including the nature of copyrighted work, the effect of the content on the potential market or value of copyrighted work, and the purpose of use. The ease and convenience of copying have greatly led to the abuse of copyright policies. Educators can copy content from the source and record it to reuse many times whenever it’s needed. That is a big challenge for the intellectual property because the owner never gains from the third party who copies from the buyer. The intellectual property is intangible, and therefore, it is easy to transfer from one point to another without leaving any evidence. Obtaining copyright permission is a long and difficult process that involves high cost. However, the owner might decide not to grant such permission; hence, educators end up using the content without the owner’s knowledge. The article offers solutions to these problems, including getting information into the hands of teachers, maintaining a budget that can allow legally purchasing the required content, conducting audits and monitoring of photocopying, designating a copyright expert, and serving as models of legal and ethical behaviors. I believe this article was featured because it identifies the problem in the society where many copyright owners make losses from lack of compensation by users of their content, who lack copyright policies. Pre-service teachers rea usually in a period of supervised and guided teaching, and I think that’s the best time to familiarize themselves with ways copyright can be abused and how to avoid it in the future. Learning the article will help them become professional mentors to students and other school teachers regarding copyright matters. The article will also help them know what they are expected to do once they assume work full-time.
However, I’m afraid I have to disagree that it is impossible to stop all cases of violation of copyright rules and abuse of intellectual property. Copyright regulations are part of the constitution as any other article in the law. There is no reason why such regulations should not be observed fully to protect copyright owners’ rights. Teachers and educationists who go against copyright regulations would be taken to court and face a jail sentence or provide full compensation. However, there is a need for continued education on copyright policies on teachers’ training a college and mentorship programs for full-time teachers.
The first useful idea to my teaching career is that I should act legally and ethically to serve as an example for students to become law abiding citizens and develop good morals. Good morals are key to success in life; therefore, showing them how to develop such character can shape their future. Students should understand that it is ethically necessary to obey copyright regulations issued by the governments. Lastly, I have learned that the world is changing, and there is a need to adopt new technologies in handing content. People need to advance their knowledge to meet the current world’s needs in like copyright auditing and keeping of data. Teachers with the knowledge of new technology help students love their day to day challenges that occur in their life. The government should put up measures using the new technology that prevents any violations of copyright regulations.