Liz's Blog

ART 113: Digital Media
Blog Assignment #1

Finish Reading Article Here:

http://lawgeek.typepad.com/lawgeek/2007/12/copyright-fair.html

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Summary of Jason Schultz's Article:

                 This article by Jason Schultz discusses the topic of online-image-using and the ethical dilemma members of the virtual world face.   An excerpt that clearly summarizes his quandary is provided below: 

"So what is the right ethical balance?  Well, I'm no Internet ethicist, of course, so I can 't really say what the proper ethical outcome should be for this or other similar situations.  However, for me, the idea of attribution and promotion have strong appeal.  They respect who the artist is and try to help them thrive in their work.  I also think ethical online users should consider tithing any financial gain from the use of other people's works back to the original creator -- in essence voluntarily offer to post-date royalties if the project amounts to anything profitable."

                 Jason Schultz also talks about the U.S. Copyright Law, Section(s) 106 and 107.   He mentions, "there are certain kinds of reproductions and displays that are fair use and therefore, not an infringement or illegal -- even when used without the permission or attribution of the copyright owner. Such uses include but are not limited to: parody, criticism, commentary, news reporting, educational use, etc.  U.S. Copyright law is and always has been a balance between the rights of original creators and the rights of the public and subsequent creators to use copyrighted material. No one person ever has absolute rights under the law to control every use of a copyrighted work.  This applies to you, me, Lane, Disney, Google -- everyone.  For example, anyone can take a snippet of this blog post and copy it into their own blog post or email for the purposes of commenting on what I have to say.  They can do this without my permission and without even attributing it to me or providing the URL. "

                 Well, Mr. Schultz, you get all the credit you deserve... as I am re-posting snippets from your article on my blog (for academic purposes, of course)-- credit fully awarded to you though :) !  

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My Reaction to Jason Schultz's Article:

               I think Mr. Schultz makes a very critical point in his article.  Unfortunately, the reality is, in the virtual world, access to "virtually" anything and everything is made possible.  That's a scary and provoking thought.   I do believe credit should be awarded where and when it is due... but I also believe that preventing the sharing & use of materials- when it could benefit, unite, educate, inform, motivate, & persuade thousands of others can also be argued as ethically wrong. Of course, the situation always depends and the intent of the user is essential when thinking about internet ethics!  
               I do think it is important to have laws in place that work to protect creators and authors along with their work(s).    I also think that education systems should work harder to inform students about image-copying and their limitations when it comes to borrowing images from the internet.  I find it impossible to believe that there are students out there who will never have to use an online photo/image for scholastic or professional purposes~ which is why INFORMING scholars and students about this topic can only be beneficial.   Lawsuits and infringement claims might decrease once people are made overly aware of their rights and also the consequences of plagiarizing someone's work.
              I would hate to be the one whose hard work gets stolen/illegally-borrowed... but I'd also hate to be the one held responsible for a crime I didn't even realize I was committing!  Being aware is the best thing one can do in this situation, because company's will come after you in defense of their work-- which, let's be honest... they are fully entitled to!