What was your primary contribution to the discussion?
My primary contribution to our discussion was how copyrights allow for legal action to occur if necessary. There are several requirements for fair use, and if these are not followed then something can legally be done. I also contributed by attempting to find the answers to our questions about public domain and the use of images. Although I did not find the exact, whole answer to each question, I did find helpful information that gave us a start for answering the questions.
What questions emerged from your group discussion?
One of the main questions our group discussed was whether each different organization has their own set of “rules” for their pictures or logos and what they can or can’t be used for. Additionally, how to find that information for each organization.
Another question our group came up with was how long are copyrights good for? And when does something become public domain?
Our group also wondered how you correctly cite a picture or image?
What questions were answered for you in your group discussion?
We found information from the UT Crash Course in Copyright concerning students use of images and also information about public domain. The site showed that anything published before 1978 does not become public domain until 70 years after the author’s death, or if corporate author 95 years from publication, or 120 years from creation. There are several other guidelines that are listed on this site that additionally explain public domain. We also found that on this site it explains that students can use images for personal study, assignments, or requirements for classes. However, I don’t believe this is the whole answer to the question so it is important to read the additional information about the subject and seek out the entire answer.
How will you apply what you learned in the readings and discussion to your own work?
During our discussion I learned several things in regard to copyrights. I was not aware that once something is written, despite where, it is copyrighted. Also, I did not really know about when copyrights “run out” and public domain. Unlike before, I now see that I truly, and in a sense legally have rights for my own work. No one can take my words or ideas and take credit for them as their own. This also makes me realize that I have to be extremely careful when doing my research. Remembering to cite ideas along with direct quotes is very important for the MRP.
In our group we also discussed the site turnitin.com where you turn papers into the website to basically see if you have plagarized. We discussed how it is controversial because teachers make you turn in your paper, despite whether you want to or not. I thought this was very intersting in relation to what we read about copyrights. I never would have really thought about the debate until our discussion.
