Maryland Lawmaker Introduces Bill To Bar Schools From Claiming Copyright On Student & Faculty Work

from the one-way-to-go-about-things dept

We recently wrote about how the school district in Prince George County, Maryland, was looking at adopting a policy whereby the school would claim all copyrights on created works by students and teachers. For obvious reasons, this got many people upset and, in response, it appears that a Maryland politician has tried to block the move. Dave Blevins alerts us to the news that Maryland state House Minority Leader Anthony J. O'Donnell introduced a bill that bars schools from claiming the copyright on students' work. The bill does not however bar them requiring staff to assign copyrights, which is unfortunate. It's good to see more widespread recognition of how copyright is abused, but trying to fix it bit by bit rather than looking at the overall system seems like a mistake.

Filed Under: copyright, maryland, schoolwork

Campaign Launched To Stop School From Claiming Copyright On Student Work

from the speak-out-now dept

We recently wrote about how the school board for Prince George County, Maryland, was considering a policy that would claim the copyright of everything produced by both students and faculty at the various schools in the district. That seemed extreme in so many ways. Some folks have set up a site called Don't Copyright Me, in which they're asking people to sign a petition to be sent to the school board, telling them not to take the copyrights from students and teachers.

While this may seem like a small deal because it involves a single school district, the larger concern is that it actually becomes a bigger deal in the long term, as other school districts may follow suit:

Copyright is getting out of control. Prince George's County is one of the top 25 school systems in the country. If this policy goes into effect, it could set a terrible precedent at a time when quality education is needed more than ever. Students and teachers deserve the same rights as everyone else. With this policy, a high school student could get a takedown notice from their own school for posting a video they made for class on YouTube.

Hopefully the school board realizes this would be a mistake.

Filed Under: copyright, education, prince george county, schoolwork