Copyright FYI from MCCD

[Alan Dayley]

On Sunday 09 February 2003 21:40, Michelle Lowman wrote:
> Printed copies of this are being sent out to students all over the
> District.
>
> http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/legal/ip/students.htm
>
> Follow the links, and you'll find this:
>
> http://www.dist.maricopa.edu/legal/ip/guidelines/software.htm
>
> Comments? Anyone? Anyone?

In the first link, paragraph 9, it is regretable that they used this sill=
y=20
quote:

--[quote]--
According to a statement recently issued by representatives of the motion=
=20
picture, recording and songwriting industries, uploading and downloading=20
copyrighted works over the Internet is theft: "It is no different from=20
walking into the campus bookstore and in a clandestine manner walking out=
=20
with a textbook without paying for it."
--[end quote]--

This is not completely correct.  If I steal a book, the bookstore cannot =
sell=20
that book because it no longer has physical possession of it.  If I make =
a=20
copy of a digital work, the harm is much less because the original is sti=
ll=20
intact and just as viable as before.  IANAL but this seems to me to be le=
ss=20
harmful.

The above is not an endorsement of violating copyright law as infringemen=
t is=20
infringment.  I just to see as the same as stealing a tangible item.

The only other comments I would make is:

- MCCD must and should, as reasonably as they can, follow copyright law. =
 GPL=20
and other open source licenses depend on copyright law as the teeth for=20
enforcing the open part of the license.  Weakening or not enforcing copyr=
ight=20
weakens open source licenses.

- Isn't it a shame that most, if not all, of the software a public colleg=
e=20
uses is not under an open license.  This would minimize the need to contr=
ol,=20
track, enforce or otherwise waste scarce resources of money and people in=
=20
keeping in compliance with closed licenses.  With all open licenses a tea=
cher=20
could walk into a class and hand the students a CD, saying "Here is all t=
he=20
software you need to use in this class.  Copy it.  Install it.  Even stud=
y=20
the code if you have time after doing all the homework I will give you.  =
Use=20
it when the class is over.  it is yours to use."  That would be much bett=
er=20
than saying "Buy this 'student version' for an incredible discount and co=
st=20
of only $$$ otherwise you cannot complete this course."

As tuition goes up and operating budgets go down, I should think that bot=
h=20
students, teachers and administrators better start looking at Free Softwa=
re /=20
Open Source as a way to produce education results that are just as good f=
or=20
less $$$.

Alan