Noteworthy News for the Lector Group
So Bank of America hired Malcolm Gladwell….
Thoughts?
I had the great fortune to attend a talk by Dan Cahoy, Associate Professor of Business Law at Smeal, last week. It was a great talk – Cahoy somehow made the dry subjects of copyright, plagiarism, and fair use engaging and, dare I say, fun?!
This lecture came at a very useful time for me. Just a week prior, I was in the thick of instruction for several classes on how to approach multimedia projects. At the heart of these classes is always a discussion of copyright, fair use, and creative commons, topics that I always attempt to do justice and later often feel that I’ve left several students’ heads spinning. Points I stressed were these:
At first glance, many of you might be thinking, “Well done, Biblio-tech!” No doubt, the above made the instructors for whom I taught extremely happy – they were much less comfortable than I approaching these topics – and I was mostly correct in what I said.
However, there are a few points that Professor Cahoy made in his presentation that really helped me to crystallize what is important when it comes to copyright and class projects. I will do my best to articulate them here for you**:
5. Use only what you need. (This piece was critical to my understanding of copyright and fair use.) It is important that any media you are using in your project actually contribute to its meaning, including the music in the background. If all you need is a nice track to accompany your images, definitely go for something that’s licensed for that type of use as opposed to, say, Gaga’s latest hit. Unless you want to draw legal attention to your newly created Gaga video, from which anyone (with the right software) can strip the perfectly good music track. On the other hand, if you’re doing a project on the way the concept of beauty is created in the media, “Born this Way” might make the perfect backdrop, as long as you’re meeting all other of the four factors for fair use.
And there you have it. A clearer (I hope) idea of the best practices when it comes to media creation in any environment.
Thanks, Professor Cahoy!
*I am not a lawyer nor am I attempting to be one. This blog post presents my own interpretation and understanding of the information presented and does not in any way act as legal advice.
Hey Everyone! Here’s the powerpoint from today’s class, complete with links to the resources. Please let me know if you have any questions!
So what exactly does a “biblio-tech” do every day? I was honored to be profiled recently in a Penn State Live photo journal story that answers that very question. I’ll tell you one thing – the answer to the question is a far cry from shushing people and shelving books!
Anything that surprises you?
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