Copyright

The digital age has brought new challenges to international Copyright laws. Australia's Copyright Act 1968 and the American Copyright Act of 1976 were published with the print medium in mind (Groth, 2015; p. 17) rather than the open, participatory nature of the digital world. Today's digital environment is characterised by individuals, including our students, as significant consumers and creators of online content with many being unaware of what is ethical and responsible use of information and ideas. A key finding of a 2015 online Copyright infringement report, commissioned by the Australian Government, reinforces the need for Copyright education by highlighting that 43% of respondents (2630 interviewees aged over 12 years) were not confident in their knowledge about what is legal and illegal online. The need for appropriate copyright education in schools is important given the ease with which students and teachers can access, author, create, remix, share and publish material in the Digital Learning Environment (DLE). While Copyright is complex in the DLE, where blended and flipped classroom models, smart boards, mobile technologies and even YouTube (National Copyright Unit, 2012) have all contributed to the blurring of educators' Copyright understanding. Therefore it is important that teachers acquire the essential concepts behind Copyright to effectively model the ethical use of materials to their students to encourage them to be respectful digital citizens (Wells, 2012).

To start your journey, or to clarify your understanding of Copyright, watch this short animation that introduces you to the basics of Australian Copyright and how it relates to your work as a teacher.

Now that you have an understanding of Copyright, the Slideshare Copyright for Educators - Schools by the National Copyright Unit (NCU), provides a more comprehensive discussion of Copyright. The illustrative education examples of the Copyright Statutory and Non-Statutory Licences and the Copyright Exceptions, such as Flexible Dealing will help to consolidate your understanding of these tricky Copyright areas.

Test your knowledge about Copyright:

The Global Dimension to Copyright

Copyright in the globally, socially networked and participatory world poses challenges to educators seeking to leverage from the wealth of materials and knowledge available in the digital age. The Internet's global reach breaks down geographic , national and cultural borders and makes available a fluid flow of information (James & John, 2013). International Copyright treaties, such as The Berne Convention, attempt to establish minimum Copyright standards (Hanson & Murray, 2008) between the 170 member countries. Despite international treaties, Copyright confusion pervades, particularly in education, because different countries adopt different education provisions and exceptions. Australia, like New Zealand and the UK, adopt Fair Dealing provisions through a range of statutory licences, specific exceptions and licencing schemes that allow for limited copying for study, education, research and news reporting purposes. Fair dealing provisions generally don't address works in the digital environment, are more restrictive in how much can be copied or used and are less flexible than the United States fair use doctrine (The International James Joyce Foundation, 2012). To learn more about fair use watch the video from 1:15 below.

Australia’s Copyright exceptions are under review to reflect the changing digital environment with a recommendation for the introduction of a Fair Use provision similar to the United States doctrine. The inclusion of a Fair Use provision may enable Australia to achieve a greater Copyright balance between educational use of materials and the rights of creators. Further Australia would be better aligned and consistent with international Copyright trends that recognise the need to leverage from the affordances of the digital environment and engage in best teaching practices, such as flipped learning that are facilitated by technology (Browne, 2012; National Copyright Unit, n.d.).

Ideas for the classroom

Digizen - UK resource aimed at Years 7-9 students to introduce students to Copyright with scenarios. 

In-Tune - documentary about the related Copyright issue of illegal downloading of music and the impact it has on Australian musicians and songwriters. 

Nothing Beats The Real Thing - Copyright and Digital Citizenship - This multimodal resource focuses on TV/film Copyright, and the impact of piracy on society and creativity. 

Music For Free - a resource aimed at middle secondary aged students exploring the ethics of illegal file sharing. 

References

Browne, D. (2012). Copyright law reform - Open Educational Resources. [Powerpoint slides]. Retrieved from http://www.slideshare.net/nationalcopyrightunit/delia-browne-1

Common Sense Education. (2020, September 5). Creativity, copyright and fair use [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/xvZHNwBHirQ?si=FeevBkZG1BMd756a

Department of Communications. (2015). Online copyright infringement. Retrieved fromhttps://www.communications.gov.au/sites/g/files/net301/f/DeptComms%20Online%20Copyright%20Infringement%20Report%20FINAL%20.pdf

Groth, S. (2015). If: Book Australia: Copyright in the digital age. Writing Queensland, 250, 17-18. Retrieved fromhttp://www.qwc.asn.au/

Hanson, S., & Murray, P. (2008). Copyright essentials. A practical guide. Strawberry Hills: Australian Copyright Council.

Hobbs, R. (2010). Copyright clarity: How fair use supports digital learning. Available from https://books.google.com.au/books?id=GlJtondCFBAC&lpg=PP1&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q&f=false

James, F., & John, J. (2013). Copyright & online technologies. Strawberry Hills: Australian Copyright Council. 

James, F. (2012). Educational institutions: Using text and images. Strawberry Hills: Australian Copyright Council.

John, J. (2012). Educational institutions: Using sound and screen. Strawberry Hills: Australian Copyright Council.

New South Wales Department of Education and Training. (2008). Handbook for school libraries: Copyright in New South Wales government schools. Retrieved from http://www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/schoollibraries/assets/pdf/hbkcopy.pdf

Migan, F. (2009). Copyright and creative commons in schools. Scan, 28(1), 41-43. Retrieved from http://scan.nsw.edu.au/

Morris, G. (2016, April 22). Ethical participation in the digital environment - Copyright [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/aCju33tUALc

National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). (n.d). Smartcopying. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopy.edu.au

National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). (n.d). Educational Licences. Retrieved from  http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/schools/educational-licences

National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). (n.d). Flexible Dealing. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/information-sheets/schools/educational-licences

National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). (n.d.). Fair use and why Australian schools need it. Retrieved from http://www.smartcopying.edu.au/law-reform/fair-use-and-why-australian-schools-need-it

National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). (2012). Submission to the Australian Law Reform Commission. Issues paper 42: Copyright and the digital economy. Retrieved from http://www.alrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/subs/cag_schools_submission_-_ip_42_-_corrected.pdf

Smith, J. and Shivaramanan (2024). Copyright for educators - schools. [Powerpoint slides]. National Copyright Unit, Copyright Advisory Groups (Schools and TAFE). https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/copyright-for-educators-schools-22-october-2024/272641156

The International James Joyce Foundation. (2012). Legal definitions: Fair use and fair dealing. Retrieved from https://joycefoundation.osu.edu/joyce-copyright/fair-use-and-permissions/about-law/legal-definitions

Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2008). Copyright guidelines for Victorian government schools. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/management/copyrightguidesch.pdf

Wells, D. (2012). Copyright: Do it right the first time. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(7), 34-35. Retrieved from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learningandleading