November 29, 2009 (Catholic education, Catholic schools)

In June 2008, the Canadian government introduced Bill C-61, new copyright legislation that closely followed the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The public response to the bill was both immediate and angry – tens of thousands of Canadians wrote to the Minister and their local Members of Parliament, leading to town hall meetings, negative press coverage, and the growing realization that copyright was fast becoming a mainstream political and policy issue. This film, produced by Michael Geist and Daniel Albahary, asks Canadians from across the country and from a wide range of sectors the question – “why copyright?”

As every teacher knows copyright is a constant source of personal conflict and bureaucratic headache. Negotiating print copyright on behalf of teachers has not gone well over the past few years and adds a considerable sum to the amount we pay for education.

It is also a constant problem for anyone who runs a blog like Tomorrow’s Trust. I try to get permission to share other people’s material. I don’t do the same for pictures. Simply put if any photographer is stupid enough to put a picture, on the web in my opinion it is in the common domain. I do not know why I separate out writing from a photograph by I do.

Like the video describes I try to find a balance. Education, even in America has exemptions with respect to copyright for the “common good”. This is a 47 minute documentary. It was found at dotSUB (http://dotsub.com/view/cdd2f6d7-d101-4142-b18c-3ad11ba79193) and is in the public domain.

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