EDUCAUSE | Intellectual Property

Web 2.0 and the perilous seas of content access

catherine — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 06:58:31 -0500

This post is not about "naming and shaming" innovative web content providers, who are making great strides in bringing interesting multimedia content to end-users.

It's just a small story to remind us that web 2.0 is not always as "accessible" as we think. For educators, perhaps it's a yet another reason to prefer open content. And it reminds us that commercial constraints and IP issues continue to prevent the web from being as "global" a resource as the educational community would like.

This is how I received the error message: browsing Jason Kottke's popular website kottke.org (now described as "a weblog about the liberal arts 2.0") , I noticed that, in a post about the film Koyaanisqatsi, Jason had linked to the popular video site hulu.com. But I couldn't actually see the video content - all I got was the above message.

Typing the hulu.com URL into my browser address field and hitting 'enter' brings up the following:

"Hulu is committed to making its content available worldwide. To do so, we must work through a number of legal and business issues, including obtaining international streaming rights. Know that we are working to make this happen and will continue to do so. Given the international background of the Hulu team, we have both a professional and personal interest in bringing Hulu to a global audience."

"We have both a professional and personal interest" -- I'm sure they do. Good luck to hulu.com.

In the meantime, I'll continue to recommend VideoLectures, Easy YouTube, and TeacherTube. For video search, beyond the Googleplex, BlinkX continues to expand its functionality and now offers an education content search option. Yovisto (formerly known as OSOTIS) continues to expand, and has an English-language-only video search option.

Collaborative Social Networking: Copyright Nightmare, Dream, or Reality?

drupal — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:04:16 -0500

The collaborative nature of sharing media in social networks can present varied and challenging copyright issues. The knowledgeable application of copyright laws, policies, and practices are keys in determining if the use of your creative works by others and vice versa will be a nightmare, dream, or reality.

Winning Hearts and Minds in War on Plagiarism

ckeller — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 10:34:22 -0500

To many writing instructors, going nuclear (expulsion threats) or high tech (detection software) have failed to stop cheating. So they aim for small victories, through new approaches to teaching about academic integrity.

Don't Download This Panel

drupal — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:00:14 -0500

The attention of—and on—higher education has been focused on defensive measures to curb illegal file sharing. But this is occurring in the context of a much larger national debate about the appropriate role of copyright and intellectual property in cyberspace. Simultaneously, myriad new business models and delivery options for online digital entertainment are being tested. Ê What are institutions of higher education doing to curb illegal file sharing? What are the issues in the larger copyright debate? And what is the vision of the entertainment industry for offering digital entertainment online? A panel of distinguished experts in the field will discuss these and other pertinent issues in the peer-to-peer file sharing debate.

Full Report of the Section 108 Study Group

ckeller — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:19:08 -0500

The Section 108 Study Group is a select committee of copyright experts charged with updating for the digital world the Copyright Act's balance between the rights of creators and copyright owners and the needs of libraries and archives. The Study Group was convened as an independent group by the National Digital Information Infrastructure and Preservation program of the Library of Congress and by the U.S. Copyright Office. The recommendations, conclusions, and other outcomes of the Study Group's Report are its own and do not reflect the opinions of the Library of Congress or the U.S. Copyright Office.

Copyright in OpenCourseWare

drupal — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 10:14:59 -0500

When MIT OpenCourseWare began, intellectual property was expected to be one of its biggest challenges. Here we will share our experiences in developing systems and strategies that have changed dealing with third-party content in an open publication from a major concern to a routine part of our publication process.

E-Books in Higher Education: Nearing the End of the Era of Hype?

elilly — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 13:06:43 -0600

What is the reality with respect to e-books? Will e-books finally take off? After nearly two decades of talking about how e-books are right around the corner, have we finally reached the corner?

Get Me Out of the Middle!

elilly — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 14:29:13 -0600

"File sharing serves as a tuning fork for an entirely new orchestra of digital communication, interaction, and social expectation. We in higher education must provide a clear, calm, ringing voice in defining
the terms of the new world when we believe our goals and values are important not only to us but to society."

Update on Key U.S. Copyright Developments

ckeller — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 11:40:56 -0600

Copyright continues to be a core interest of the higher education and academic library communities. This briefing will focus on eight critical legislative and legal arenas where the United States will be working on copyright: orphan works, digital fair use, broadcast flag, Section 1201 anti-circumvention rulemaking, electronic reserves, peer-to-peer file sharing, open access to government-funded research, and the report of the Section 108 Study Group on exceptions and limitations for libraries and archives. The work of the study group will be highlighted, including its primary findings and recommendations. In addition, two important recent studies will be described and their importance for libraries will be cited. The advocacy and educational roles and responsibilities of librarians on copyright also will be outlined.

Jury Sides With Blackboard in Patent Case

ckeller — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:26:30 -0600

A federal jury in Texas recently awarded the learning services giant Blackboard $3.1 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against a much smaller competitor, adding a new layer of complexity and uncertainty to a complex, uncertain market for higher education learning management systems.