Copyright and Fair Use

The comic explains the complexities of copyright law and about how people can stray from the law without even knowing it. The work is meant to inform readers of the law around copyright. This was very informative and helped clear up some misconceptions I had. Before I read the comic, I thought that the only things that were copyrighted were ones that had the copyright symbol on them. I found the idea of free use to be interesting and I think it opens lots of works that may have been copyrighted for teachers to use in a critical way in the classroom. I also think that fair use is beneficial because things caught on accident might not be considered for breaking a law if the reason is solid enough. One thing that still isn't clear for me is what the public domain is and what qualifies as public work.

I think that the information was presented in an understandable format. The author takes what would normally be a very difficult subject to wade through and turns it into an easy to understand conversation and discussion. I liked how one character was asking the type of questions that regular people would ask and that the answers were given in plain terms. The whole idea of copyright reminds me of another idea. There is a saying that there can never be any original art. Everyone has a muse and someone that their style takes after. Copyright is understanding that your art isn't original and you should give credit to the people you stole it from.

In the classroom this is an important topic because we have to stress the importance of copyright law to our students. I know personally that there was never a worry at my high school about copyright in presentations or projects. As a high school teacher I will make sure my students know the law of copyright that applies to them and hold them accountable for the work that they produce.