Copyright

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a law that gives someone control over how others can use and share things they have created like books, movies, and computer programs according to Loshin (2021). Futhermore, copyright law is a set of rules that helps make sure that artists and creators earn money from their work. Loshin (2021) says it balances the rights of people who want to use and change creative works with the rights of the original creators to control who can make and sell copies of their work. 

To find a fair balance, people can only have control over their work for a certain number of years and then after that time, anyone can use the work without having to ask permission (Loshin, 2021).

How does Copyright work? 

After finding out about copyright, it's important to know how it functions. TheEconomicTimes (2023) states intellectual property is something you make and use your brain to create so, this must be kept safe from anyone who might copy it without permission.

According to TheEconomicTimes (2023) things like art, books, computer programs, movies, website writing, poems, and songs are all special things people make. Copyright protects a person's original work from being used without permission. Futhermore, TheEconomicTimes (2023) explain that the copyright law says that something is original if the person who made it came up with the idea themselves and didn't copy it from somewhere else. As well, if you own the copyright to your product, nobody else can copy or use your work without your permission.

TheEconomicTimes (2023) state if the person who made something wants to have more control over it, they can register the copyright on purpose. However, TheEconomicTimes (2023) even states that not all work can be legally protected by copyright, because one cannot claim ownership of an idea or theory using copyright. The law does not protect logos, names of brands, and slogans from being used by others (The EconomicTimes, 2023).

To have copyright protection, your work needs to exist in a physical form that can be seen or touched, also to protect your speech, idea, discovery, etc., with copyright, you need to write it down or put it in a physical form TheEconomicTimes (2023).

Outcome of the lesson:

Learning about copyright will help improve education in two ways in the 21st century. Learning about copyright will teach students to be responsible. When we teach students about copyright laws and how to give credit to sources, we help them avoid plagiarism and make sure they use and share information ethically. Also, knowing about copyright will help students be more creative and come up with new ideas. Students will learn how to make their own things and share them with others if they know about copyright laws. This means they also need to respect the work which belongs to other people.