Learning on ScreenDo You ♥ Copyright?
In the light of the acceptance by government of the recommendations made by the Hargreaves Review of Intellectual Property, what are the potential benefits to education? Emily Goodhand considers this in light of her every-day activities as Copyright and Compliance Officer at the University of Reading.
About the Author: Emily Goodhand is Copyright and Compliance Officer at the University of Reading.
E-mail: e.a.goodhand@reading.ac.uk
Twitter: @copyrightgirl
Tel: 0118 378 6766
A lot of people don’t really understand what I do. When I try to explain it, the reactions I get vary between bored indifference to mild alarm. I’m in the wrong profession for casual conversation at dinner parties, given the fairly prohibitive and often incendiary nature of copyright as a concept. Truth be told though, I really enjoy my job. And no, it doesn’t involve standing over people with a big stick as they stand cowering with a book at the photocopier (something else people often assume I do). The reasons I love my job are these: I enjoy talking to people about copyright and helping them with issues they face, and I get to deal with complex enquiries which means regularly interpreting and applying the law. My approach to copyright is not (as so often is the case) to focus exclusively on what can’t be done, but rather on what can, preferring to empower and not prohibit. In my experience, most people who breach copyright law do so in complete ignorance. This is not a defence to copyright infringement, but rather an indication that there is a lack of understanding, particularly when it comes to the online environment.
People often think that copyright law is somehow different for the digital domain – it is not.
The digital domain
The difficulty that the law has with the online environment is in trying to decide where infringements occur, and how to deal with the multiple rights contained in audiovisual works. Often the best way to maintain compliance and limit liability when it comes to online content is to manage and adhere to appropriate licences and draft appropriate policies and terms and conditions. Licences and terms and conditions can act as contracts that clearly specify the acts, which may and may not be done. These will provide a legal framework within which people can operate, thereby mitigating the risks to the institution. Part of my role is devoted to the drafting of policy and similar documents.
Having been Copyright Officer for about two years now, I’ve had my fair share of complex enquiries. One of the highlights of my role is that no two queries are ever the same! But often there are similar themes and invariably audiovisual works are one of the most complicated areas – not least because licensing requirements and performance rights are often complex.
