5.+My+Report

=__My Report - Copyright and Related Issues__=


 * The Question:**


 * The use of digital data covered by Copyright in a multimedia production reflects a lack of creativity and is against the law in all circumstances. Discuss**

I believe that the use of digital data, covered by copyright, in a multimedia production doesn’t always reflect a lack of creativity and isn’t against the law in all circumstances. __ What is Copyright? __ According to dictionary.com, copyright is “the exclusive right to make copies, license, and otherwise exploit a literary, musical, or artistic work, whether printed, audio, video, etc. Works granted such right by law on or after January 1, 1978, are protected for the lifetime of the author or creator and for a period of 50 years after his or her death.” However, copyright only protects works that are written down or recorded. These include such data types as; text, audio, video, software programs and artworks. Copyright doesn’t protect ideas, concepts, styles, people and not always names, slogans and titles. (National Copyright Unit, 2008; Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2007) There are also ‘moral rights’ associated with copyright. (National Copyright Unit, 2008) These dictate that the copyright owner should be credited for their work and not have other people take credit for it. They also have the right to have their work respected and not treated in an offensive or defaming manner. (Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2007) The copyright owner has the right to decide whether to show their work in public, make copies of it, or give other people permission to copy it. (National Copyright Unit, 2008; Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2007) This brings me to the question of whether or not it is against the law in all circumstances to use digital data that is protected by copyright.

__ Copyright and the Law __ In most cases it is against the law to use material covered by copyright but there are exceptions.

It isn’t against the law to use copyright material in the following ways: (Australian Copyright Council Information Sheets, 2007, 2008, 2009; Attorney-General’s Department, 2009) - If permission is obtained from the copyright owner. - It isn’t against the law to buy a pirated DVD, only to play, sell or make one. - The use of 10% of a work is allowed for educational purposes. - Libraries, educational institutes and government bodies are allowed to use copyright material for certain purposes, such as: to maintain archives and give educational instruction. Sometimes a fee may have to be paid. - Students and reviewers are allowed to use copyright material without permission, provided they use it in a fair way, complying with the Copyright Act. ‘Fair dealing’ of copyright material is considered to be for the purpose of; research, study, review, satire, reporting news or professional advice. - Copyright material is allowed to be copied for the purpose of storage, backup, format shifting, (material is copied in order to change it to use in another format), and in a way that it helps a person with a disability. - People are allowed to record a television or radio broadcast in order to watch or listen to it later. This is called time-shifting.

It is against the law to use copyrighted material in the following ways: (Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2007) - To copy an important part of the work, large or small. - To allow, encourage or help someone to breach copyright. - To make, sell, play or own pirated copies of movies, games, etc. - To make and sell unauthorised copies of software programs. - To import items which contain copyrighted material, without permission, for the purpose of sale and distribution of that material.

Some of the penalties for these offences are; (Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2005) - The infringing material may be confiscated. - Guilty people or parties may have to pay back the money that they have made off the infringing material. They might also have to pay the other person/parties money to make up for the amount that they would have lost. This is based on the sale value of the work. - People can be fined and jailed.

__ Copyright and Software __ Software is “the programs used to direct the operation of a computer”. (dictionary.com). The authors of software programs also need to be protected by copyright. Copyright protection helps to ensure that the author gets the recognition and money they deserve for their work. When illegal copies of software programs are made it is called software piracy. (Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2009) There are many problems associated with software piracy. The illegal copies can be distributed to many other people, at no cost. This results in a loss of money for the software author/company. In 2008, software piracy was estimated to have cost companies around $58 billion. (Reuters, 2009) The illegal copies can contain viruses which can infect peoples’ computers and spread quickly through computer systems. (The MathWorks Inc, n.d.). Also there is no guarantee of the quality of the software copy. It could be outdated and might not even work. Shareware is also connected with the issue of software piracy. Shareware is “computer software distribution without initial charge but for which the user is encouraged to pay a nominal fee to cover support for continued use.” (dictionary.com). The shareware can also be passed on to other people. (Association of Shareware Professionals, n.d.) I think Shareware is a better option than software piracy as the author elects to put it up for sharing and they are acknowledged for their work. This is also a good option for the consumer as shareware is cheaper than commercial software packages. Some authors may have an honesty fee, but some users may choose not to pay it. (Association of Software Professionals, n.d) I don’t think any software should be copied without permission and, even though shareware is initiated by the author, I still think they should get paid what the program is worth.

__ Copyright and Multimedia __ According to dictionary.com, multimedia is “the combined use of several media”. The main types of media are; text, hypertext, audio, video, images/graphics, and animation. These are all protected by copyright. It is important to protect these by copyright as the authors should have the right to control what happens to their work. Copyright aims to prevent the material from being copied without permission or from people presenting someone else’s work as their own, (plagiarism). (National Copyright Unit, 2008; Australian Copyright Council Information Sheet, 2007).

However, does the use of copyright material in a multimedia production reflect a lack of creativity? I think that depends on the way it is used. If people use copyright material, with permission, to create something new, I think they are being very creative. I think they are being artistic if they can take parts of other people’s work and combine it with their own to create something new. Take a mash-up for example. This is “an audio recording that is a composite of samples from other recordings, usually from different musical styles.” (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2009) I believe that a person has to be creative in order to take parts of different recordings and different styles of music, and create another piece that sounds good and different. However, there are cases where I think the use of such material does reflect a lack of creativity. If people copy large sections of another persons’ work, don’t integrate it with their own and don’t acknowledge it, I think this shows a lack of creativity and respect for the original creator. Take plagiarism as an example. Plagiarism is “the act of taking the writings of another person and passing them off as one’s own.” (Encyclopaedia Britannica) This shows a lack of respect and honesty as the person hasn’t made any attempt to acknowledge the author of the material. It also shows a lack of creativity as they haven’t attempted to integrate their own ideas into their work. They have just copied someone else’s work, not created any new, original ideas. However, some people might argue that the person has to be creative in the way that they present the other person’s work, in order for it to look like their own.

In conclusion, I thinl that the use of digital data covered by Copyright in a presentation that combines the use of several media, reflects a lack of creativity in some situations. However it isn’t against the law in all circumstances.