"Teachers and scholars are losing ground" in the fight to use digital media for educational or research purposes, American Library Association (ALA) copyright specialist Carrie Russell told eSchool News.

As it is the rules for educators under fair use include only:

For music - A single copy of up to 10 % of a musical composition in print, sound, or multimedia form.

For written works - Multiple copies of may be made of a complete work of less than 2,500 words and excerpts up to 1,000 words or 10% of work, whichever is less. For works of 2,500-4,999 words, 500 words may be copied.

For artwork or graphic images - No more than 5 images of an artist/photographer in one program or printing and not more than 10% or 15% of images from published collective work, whichever is less.

For motion media - film and videotape productions, you may use a single copy of up to 3 minutes or 10% of the whole, whichever is less and spontaneity required.

And, the DMCA has tightened these rules even more.

Students at one college posted their research paper which included information they found on the internet and they were promptly sued, stating DMCA rules that the information used was proprietary. A foundation made their own collage of scenes from medical television shows to be given to first year medical students and was forced, under fear of lawsuit, to pay $17,000 to the movie companies who insisted that even though it was for educational purposes, it was not covered by fair use.

So we can’t even play a whole song in class for educational purposes, can we play a CD in the classroom because there is more than one person in the room?

What about all those documentaries and travel videos that sit in every library in the world? That were made for educational purposes? How far does the DMCA go?

There has been a lot of talk in educational circles about the need for more “authentic” learning. Maybe we need to go to ALL authentic learning. Maybe we should just stop learning from the past unless it is told to us by an elder, like it used to be, before we learned to write down and archive our past. Maybe we should only allow original writing, original music, original movies in our schools and colleges, and then, at the end of the school year, everything should be burned.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showStory.cfm?ArticleID=5118

http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research.htm#Purpose%20of%20use

Wow - I'm just speechless. . . If someone pulled that crap on me - when I have cited there work . . . Lets just say that I would make headlines for the actionst that I would be forced to take ; P

this is incredible. the industry seems to want to replace real learning with their anti piracy classes.

compmore - that's true. That is what they want to do.

http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2004/04/25/laying_down_the_copyright_law____to_children?pg=full

This is just ridiculous. How are you supposed to teach music when you can't play music? Guess the RIAA doesn't want kids to learn music lest they become real musicians.

Next up, "Learning" is propietary and thus protected under the DMCA. Learning is now illeagal unless you pay for the right to learn.

This is exactly why the company I work for is now doing poorly. We sell primarily to the educational market. Mant are now afraid of the technology for exactly this reason...fear of being sued for copyright infringement, when all they want to do is exercise there right of fair use. This is why none of us that work where I do can get any raises in pay. So now tell me that what the RIAA and Movie industries are doing isn't hurting our economy and educational system. Wake up Congress....wake up!

While conducting research for my paper on the RIAA lawsuits, I found a lot of information on educational use of copyright. These don't even get close to all the restrictions. After discussing some of these issues with my professor she said above all the copy machines in at the college they've posted signs stating, "Use at your own risk!" Unbeleivable.

The St. Louis school system just gave 2100 educational films to the Academic Film Archive of North America. I hope this means they will be able to save these historic films on different media to save the archival of our cultural history.

http://www.cnn.com/2004/EDUCATION/06/24/reel.deal.ap/index.html

I have no words to describe by how much my anger towards the entertainment industry has increased.

The world's gone insane.

"This is just ridiculous. How are you supposed to teach music when you can't play music? Guess the RIAA doesn't want kids to learn music lest they become real musicians."

A real musician can make their own music, whenever they wish. This is the LAST thing the industry wants.
They want controlled "Content Providers"
to deliver product for marketing by the industry's supply
of pretty mannikins.
Nope, they want to ELIMINATE independent musicians.

This is it,this is the level of stupity that will destory our country, Dam the DMCA , the DMCA and it,s affiliates should be declared a enemy of the people of the United States, all the administraters should be taken to jail and tried for treason, and spend the rest of their lifes in prison.

ive said it once ill sayit again.
welcome to the united states ofsocialist republic
my four fathers died for nothing
my relatives who died in previous wars died for nothing
the soldiers and all those beheaded died for nothing
this isn a free country anymore
we are a communist country no more different than the ussr was 20 years ago
america has lost its way

Fuck that shit. My music teacher distributed mp3s of music we needed to learn on the secure blackboard site. That way the snoopy music fuck companies couldn't see.

You can't even make a photocopy of sheet music to take home and practice anymore without it being "copyright infringement."

"The 45-minute class is taught by volunteers from the nonprofit business group Junior Achievement, and reaches about 900,000 children in primarily disadvantaged schools from Boston to Los Angeles." Why primarily disadvantaged? Because by locking up intellectual property they assure that only those who can afford it have access to it. The rich get richer and the poor get screwed--again.

So many have failed to see where this DMCA and the copywrite laws are leading us and then here it jumps up and slaps you in the face. Not only does it apply to music but to any written word, recorded music that is distributed by the majors, or any video that might be also distributed. No wonder we are at such a poor level of education.

Without proper tools to teach, to learn, to study, how can one ever become truely educated?

This is another point on why we need PAC money out of politics. If the congress critters and the like can not be lead away from the feeding trough then it seems time for those same to part ways with the job they should be doing!

Thanks to everyone for your responses to this article. I am an educator and musician, so I see this from a slightly different perspective than some folks. I just want to make sure that we all remember how many different arenas this issue touches.

debazoz--As a mother, I knew where it was going...and it makes me so angry I can't even tell you. What THEY are teaching our children is the religion of the almighty dollar. They have it, and we don't. One day they will be paid back -- the effects of keeping information locked up are already showing up, and they will only get worse as time goes on. Since the main villains are overseas, don't you think our legislators should be looking a little more closely at the effect these laws have on the education of our young? I do!! And I'm mad enough now to start writing some letters of my own. Thanks for the information, keep on teaching.

Thanks Shadowmom. The truth is, we do what we have to do all the time whether we risk getting busted for stuff like copying sheet music to using graphics without permission for something that will never leave our classrooms. Five years ago my district bought each computer lab 10 copies of certain pieces of software. Now what were they going to do with 10 copies and 30 computers? We did what we had to do and dared the software police to show up. Teachers risk plenty but will do whatever it takes and it ain't for the money.

You go, girl!! You've got my daughter in the system, she's very bright, and I want her to stay that way!!! Most of her teachers are young, bright, and do their very best--don't ever think you are not appreciated! I love you all! You do more with less than any people I've ever known. And if the Senate and the House would ever stop screwing around--I watch them both every day, and I am taking names-- maybe they will realize where the money needs to go. Just keep on believin', lady, because there are a lot of people like me who think education gets the short SHORT end of the stick--but we keep on trying!

At least it results in more anti-copyright, anti-corporate activeists leaving school and gets the teacher community firmly on our side.

Oh, school librarians are at the top of the list, college profs next and aware teachers. We all duck under the radar a lot in the name of education.

Seems to me that what is really happening here is that the rich really don't want too many people being educated, so they do things to go around the laws to accomplish this oppression against the poor and they want to keep the poor....poor. This is why they are going after the poor and also the middle class..(RIAA lawsuits against "selected" people) They simply don't want people to get anything in life free, or even at a minimal cost.

"This is just ridiculous. How are you supposed to teach music when you can't play music? Guess the RIAA doesn't want kids to learn music lest they become real musicians."

Turn it on them...
How are you supposed to SELL the music if you can't get it heard?

Folks, the RIAA is very afraid (and we hope, RIGHTFULLY so) that the monopoly is ending, so they tighten the screws. "BAN ALL MUSIC NOT PAID FOR PER LISTEN!" Is their motto.

"They want controlled "Content Providers"
to deliver product for marketing by the industry's supply
of pretty mannikins.
Nope, they want to ELIMINATE independent musicians."

(mroop, you awake? SEE what I am talking about? dreadsnik2 knows the score, why don't mroop know?)

debazoz, please stick around this and other related copyright/music issue sites.
WE NEED YOUR PERSPECTIVE TOO!

NARAS (who effectually might as well admit they are RIAA in disquise) have a program called "Save The Music" which is sinfully hypocritical in my opinion.

Sure, give the students instruments... but if you lock all the notes away behind tryannical copyright laws that only can be performed if the RIAA makes $$$ per note...

BITE ME RIAA, BITE ME BITE ME BITE ME

Thanks, independentm, I'm not going away. I've watched here for years as GZ has written and posted here. His dissillusionment has been my awakening.