Posted by Linda W. Braun
As some people know, I’ve been trying to figure out what we do about copyright in the world of digital media, portable devices, and instantaneous access. We definitely need a new model of copyright protection and intellectual property regulation. But, what should it look like, how should it work, who should it protect, and how do we help teens understand intellectual property in the downloadable world? Those are all questions I keep asking myself.
I’m asking myself those questions again now that I know a bit more about the Intellectual Property Protection Act of 2006. Go Congress for trying to revise an outdated legal document. But, as I read about the proposed changes and revisions to existing copyright protection, I wonder if this is the right way to go. For teens in the early 21st century is the legislation that’s being proposed going to support their needs – both as users and content creators – in the future?
It’s important for teen librarians to read information about the proposed legislation in order to know what is coming, know how intellectual property is currently being thought about by legislators, and so we can advocate for laws that support the needs of libraries and teens and of creators and users.
There is of course flexible licensing available via Creative Commons which I think is a great tool. It allows content creators to provide access to their intellectual property in ways that work for users and the original designer of the content. If you or your teens create content – podcasts, blogs, images, etc. – consider licensing that content with Creative Commons.
