Copyright and Digital History

Copyright was initially created to protect the intellectual property of its creator. As the Internet has changed culture, copyright has become even more of a complicated issue. Today, copyright has been extended for so long that the material (in whatever form it takes) will not become a part of the public domain until 70 years after its creator has died. Company copyright is even longer - over 100 years! It is clear that copyright has become less about protecting intellectual property and more about protecting profits.

When it comes to copyright and digital history, there seems to be a much wider grey area. I'll be honest, I don't completely understand the nuances of "Fair Use," and where the line is drawn often depends on the context and the particular instance the copyrighted material is being used when dealing with academic work on the web. The greatest thing about the Internet is the flow of information and knowledge, and academia has an ever-growing presence online. Some believe that academics shouldn't even copyright their work because that inhibits that free flow of information and hinders the exchanging of ideas and knowledge that furthers progress. I personally feel that copyright exists for a reason and should be used to protect the intellectual property of academics, but that there needs to be a balance with certain exemptions and permissions.

You can't copyright fact, so all the information available in a database (such as birth dates, etc.) cannot be copyrighted. However, access to a database can be restricted and only granted with permission or for a fee. This would ensure that all the hours spent compiling data and creating the database in which it's stored won't be for naught.

There is a website called TeachersPayTeachers.com where educators can sell their creations to other teachers. The most glaring problems I see right away is that there is no possible way every single one of these teachers were able to design their packets and lesson plans using the same art style and images. I'm not sure if the sellers are using a software program they've purchased with certain clip art images to design the lessons they are selling, but there is absolutely no credit given to the artist. However, there are whole pages on their website devoted to explaining the basics of copyright law, their specific policies, and terms of service. 

One thing I have no touched on is the public domain. After a copyright has ended, the intellectual property goes into the public domain, meaning that anyone has the right to use it. Project Gutenberg is an interesting site. Their goal, as stated on their site by Michael Hart, is to "provide as many eBooks in as many formats as possible for the entire world to read in as many languages as possible." Anyone is welcome to contribute, and they accept any format or translation. Unfortunately there is not much control over what is submitted and shared on their site. Fortunately, the quality of submissions has gotten increasingly better as knowledge of the project spreads, and as versions of eBooks are edited. The entire project is run by volunteers.