Page:Creative Commons for Educators and Librarians.pdf/27

- 14 - CHAPTER 2. It is intended to provide an overview of the basic concepts that are most important for an understanding of how Creative Commons licenses operate.

2.1 | COPYRIGHT BASICS

Is copyright confusing to you? Let’s get some clarity by understanding its history and purpose.

Why do we have laws that restrict the copying and sharing of creative work? (Note: A “creative work” can be anything that is an original work. These can range from novels, poems, and plays to movies, TV shows, and videos; to songs and other musical compositions; to paintings, drawings, and sculptures; to all sorts of books, articles, and essays; computer programs; cartoons and comic books; and even the drawings our children make and our own jottings on a napkin. Anything we write, film, or record is a “creative work” as long as it is an original product and is fixed in a tangible form or medium.) And how do laws that restrict the copying of creative work function in the context of the Internet, where nearly everything we do involves making a copy?

Copyright law is an important area of law, one that reaches into nearly every facet of our lives, whether we know it or not. Aspects of our lives that in some instances are not regulated by copyright—like reading a physical book—become regulated by copyright when technology is used to share the same book by posting it to the Internet. Because almost everything we do online involves making a copy, copyright has become a regular feature in our lives.


 * Trace the basic history of copyright
 * Explain the purpose of copyright
 * Explain how copyright is automatic
 * Explain general copyright terms

Think back to a time when you invested significant effort in a creative project. What was your motivation for doing so? Did you know at the time that you were creating a work which is very likely protected by copyright, which restricts most reuses of that work by others without your permission? Did knowing that, or would knowing that, have made a difference to you? If so, why?