1. Lesson Objectives:
Students will:
a. Learn about copyright laws and fair use exceptions.
b. Understand various choices available to them as media producers in light of copyright laws.
c. Demonstrate their ability to identify copyright issues and be able to offer options to avoid copyright law violations.
2. Instructional Materials:
a. Student Handout #1: “Overview of Copyright and Release Requirements”
b. Student Handout #2: “Copyright Issues in Your Film Project”
c. Student Assessment: “Copyright Laws, Fair Use, Releases”
d. Teacher Guides and Sample Answers for student handouts.
3. Suggested Time: 2 – 3 class periods
4. Procedures:
a. Introductory Activities:
Use, and modify as appropriate, the following story to stimulate student interest in learning about copyright issues:
Keeli (or sustitute the name of someone currently in your class) is a young filmmaker who goes to a local film festival to see films and videos made by other young people in his community. While watching the third film of the evening, she is shocked to see footage from her own film used in this production. The footage is unquestionably hers, though she does not know how it was obtained by the other filmmaker (Keeli’s film was shown on the local cable access TV station and she thinks it might have been taped from there), and she knows that she never gave permission for it to be used. She is surprised, stunned, and outraged. Keeli has never taken any steps to copyright her film, so she is not sure if there is any legal protection in this case. Is there? Is it legal for this other filmmaker to use Keeli’s material without permission? What can she do about it?
Tell students they will find out the answers to these questions as they learn about copyright laws.
b. Core Activities:
There are a couple of options for how you might want to use the Student Handout: “Intellectual Property and Copyright Law.”
1. Assign the Student Handout “Overview of Copyright and Release Requirements,” along with the “Assessment: Copyright Laws, Fair Use, Releases,” for homework. Students will read the handout and answer the questions on the assessment. Or, you could just assign the reading, and give the assessment as an in-class quiz.
2. Another option is to use the Student Handout as a guide for you, the teacher, to use as the basis for a class lecture where students will take notes, and then be given the assessment as a quiz on another day. Also available for your use is a more detailed document (LINK TO COPYRIGHT DOC HERE) that explains the ins and outs of copyright, fair use and release laws. You may copy this document in its entirety or use portions of it as you see fit.
Before students read the handout, or take lecture notes, ask them what they think they can legally use in their own films, and what they think they would not be allowed to use. Here are some examples for them to consider:
Which of the following could be legally included (without permission) in a film:
• Video clips taped on a home vcr of MTV music videos?
• A Disney World t-shirt worn by someone in the background of a shot in the film?
• Songs by Bruce Springsteen used in the soundtrack of the film?
• A scene taken from a James Bond movie with newly created dialogue
replacing the original for the purpose of parody (making fun of the
original movie).
You may want to come back to these questions after students have read
the student handouts on copyright. You can go over them as a review in
preparation for the “Copyright Assessment.” Of the four items listed
above, only the James Bond scenes used for the purpose of parody would
be legal to use in one of your student’s films.
c. Closing Activities:
Use the “Copyright Assessment” document as an in-class quiz or a
take-home assignment to assess student understanding of the information
presented by you in class and in the “Summary of Copyright and Release
Requirements” document.
Hand out copies of the “Copyright in Your Film” document, and ask
students to fill it out with answers that relate to the copyright issues
they find in their own film projects.
5. Student Evaluation:
Use the “Copyright Assessment” document as a quiz or homework
assignment, and use the “Copyright Assessment Answers” for purposes of
scoring the assessments.
6. Additional Activities:
Show the short film “Rebel,” (the dvd is available at
http://mediathatmattersfest.org/dvd. Or available streaming on line at
http://mediathatmattersfest.org) and ask your class to look for
potential copyright issues this film might have faced before being
accepted for the Media That Matters Film Festival. Before showing the
film, read the article, “REBEL, Festival and Press Success,” (LINK TO
THIS ARTICLE HERE) which tells the story of how this film came to be
part of the Media That Matters Film Festival, and what changes the
producers had to make to meet the copyright requirements for the
festival.