Getting CopyRIGHT!

Plagiarism happens when someone uses words, thoughts, ideas, images, etc. that they did not create without giving credit to the creator. This can happen in written reports, on digital media, anywhere that work is presented. An easy example of plagiarism would be a student writing a research paper and taking opinions or facts about a topic without citing the source for the information.

Copyright Infringement occurs when there is unauthorized use of work without permission of the owner. A few examples of this may be distributing copies of worksheets when only one licnese was purchased, hosting a link to an entire textbook online with no password protection, or showing a full length movie at school with no tie to curriculum.

Attribution is the act of giving credit to the owner and creator of the work. This is the first way to avoid plagiarism and copyright infringement. An example of this would be a works cited at the end of a report or a "resources" slide at the end of a presentation. It is good practice to include the title, medium, and author of the piece of work in attribution.

Transformation happens when a piece of work is used to comment on, make a parody of, critique, or change up. This type of work is protected under fair use but attribution should still be given. An example of this may be a STAAR song written to the tune similar to a popular radio song with the lyrics changed to match the academic purpose.

After reading the paper regarding the separation of the US Copyright Office and the Library of Congress, I went on a hunt for more information. Since the article was published in 2015, I figured something had already taken place in regards to the issue and - SPOILER ALERT - the US Copyright Office still remains directly under the Library of Congress. The paper points out the need to modernize the practices being used by the US copyright office. Being that the librarian they replaced had been in office during the biggest era of technological growth and revolution, they are not wrong. Implementing the structures in place prior to internet and the way we access media now was a detriment and needed updating. Though the department did not fully separate, there is quite a bit of work being done to digitize processes and streamline access to records. The department has all of these enhancements spelled out here: https://www.copyright.gov/copyright-modernization/. The argument was that the antiquated practices were only beneficial to the Library and could save national dollars if separated and updated. I think the outcome is a compromise that has kept the departments functioning together in a more streamlined way.

It seems to make perfect sense to me that copyright and libary go togehter. They do in education as well - our librarians and media specialists are the copyright experts and work hard to keep teachers and students in line. It seems logical that the access point for information would remain in partnership with how the information can lawfully be used and shared.