Reflection #3 Copyright

"What do you think of copyright laws? Are they helpful or harmful? Do you think changes need to be made? If so, what would you change?"

Honestly, when it comes copyright laws I have a lot of mixed emotions. I see their purpose and understand why they are needed, yet as a college student I cannot deny the fact that I think they are a big hassel more than anything. There are so many technicalities and the laws have so many grey areas that if you are violating laws, you probably don't even realize it. Especially as future educators we have to juggle so many things from discipline, lesson plans, and tests, that worrying whether or not we are violating copyright laws when we show a movie is not going to be our main concern. Thus, I like how section 110(1) of the copyright laws basically says that if you are showing something in an educational setting for educational purposes, you are usually covered under fair use. The problem with this is the word "usually." This is the part I would change about the copyright laws. The words, "usually" and "limitations" are all contributing to the ambiguity of the laws. Any time there are grey areas it leaves room for different interpretations, which leads to court battles, which leads to wasted time and money. Thus, I would just make it clear that if you are an instructor using something for educational purposes you are covered under fair use.