Am I breaking the law?

Ethical issues around music and movie downloading have been a controversial topic since technology allowed us to download documents, music as well as movies for...FREE! Why is it a complicated topic? It is very simple. People who work hard does not see any money. Actually, if I have a job and at the end of the month I don't see any money in my account...yeah I would be so mad as well. 

So, here is the problem. Singers, actors and writers, for example, work hard to achieve in society (mainly): entertainment, amusement, spectacle and diversion. And when you download their work on the Internet instead of going to the store...that means one thing. THEY DO THEIR WORK FOR FREE!

Who does not like the word free? I mean, if people get crazy when in a super market there is a sign that says " sample free", why people are not gonna get even more crazy when they can actually save... money!? Well, money and time. When you download a movie, for example, you do it for free. But the most interesting thing is that you can watch the movie at home. You can even watch a movie while you take a bath! So... why am I gonna go to a movie theater, spend money in gas, spend money in the ticket, and of course popcorn and coke if I can get... everything for free right? 

This is how mostly the society thinks. However, while there are people spending hours writing a book, you just go to Internet and download it free by not paying any cent to this awesome writer. Same with movies.  Why are you gonna pay something...if you can get it for free?This is the main ethical issue in our society. Some people think there is no problem on doing this and some see it as a terrible thing.

As a student, I had so many professors in my life. As a surprise, none told me in class or informed me about this topic! I want to be a professor. A good professor. Those ones that everybody talks about because you are just awesome. Sometimes students talk to each other and say: you should pick this professor. He/She is really good. So yeah, basically I wanna be one of those. And to achieve this, first I have to be legal and teach to my students that they should be legal too. I guess it is gonna be a fight between what is right and what is wrong. There is no doubt that every student is different and each of them will pick one option. Ones will pick to be legal and others will be the " I am not gonna pay it, I can get ir for free". Students are free to do whatever they want but there is no doubt that I will tell them what is legal, right and the appropriate thing for them. 

Teachers have a huge responsibilities. I mean, we work with people so..there's that! But, If I have to talk about responsibilities regarding copyright, I should know what I can address to my lectures and what not. I should be legal so every time I am going to use pictures, videos and audios in my classes, I have to ask for permission if the documents have copyright.  Also I should cite every information I use from Internet as well as magazines or books. 

Remember, be legal is in your hands. You have the chance to be an angel or...the devil. But don't play with fire!

Copyright and Fair Use

Which aspects of this scenario do you feel are allowable under copyright law? 

Which aspects do you feel would be a violation of copyright law? 

What do you base your decisions on? 

To answer these questions we all should know and understand the concept of "copyright". According to Copyright Clearance Center, " Copyright protection exists from the moment a work is created in a fixed, tangible form of expression. The copyright immediately becomes the property of the author who created the work. Only the author, or those deriving their rights through the author, can rightfully claim copyright. In the case of works made for hire, the employer—not the writer—is considered the author."

Now, according to U.S Copyright Office, " the distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission." 

Moreover, under the law, the individual or entity that owns the copyright of a work has the following rights:

- Reproduction: Making copies
- Adaptation: Changing a work in some way
- Distribution: Giving the work to others
- Public Performance: Playing/performing a work in front of others
- Public Display:Displaying a work for others to view
- Digital Transmission of Sound Recordings: Capturing audio files on the internet
  and burning CDs/file sharing

According to the scenario, I am a teacher and I am showing in my class images from the google image search in class, I am posting the presentation on the password protected-intranet as well as posting the presentation on YouTube and downloading images from the Google image search. Moreover, I show the youtube video to my students, I play rainforest sounds I purchased on iTunes, i read the poem aloud to my students and record the presentation.

What is legal and what is ilegal? I would use in class google images, the mp3 album and the youtube video. There is not problem at all using the song that I dowloaded because I personally bought the record so...now it's mine! Regarding the pictures, if we have doubt about what is legal and what not we can go to websites such as flickr. These kind of webpages do not require a permission. 

Finally, my actions are going to be safe as long as I have a permission from the original creator. We all should know that if we see the copyright symbol anywhere and we want to use that material, we have to ask for permission. If we pick something with copyright and we use it without any allowance...we'll be in trouble.