Thursday, September 23, 2010

Copyright and Creative Commons








Jason Hardin
Manager of Access Services



Circulation Boss

Responsibilities- In charge of the Reserves

Make a lot of reproduction-Xerox and Digital scans

Copyright-government recognized ownership of some kind of intellectual property; having the right to control distribution and ultimately profit from it.

Difference of copyright violations and plagiarism

Copyright violations-crime
Plagiarism-Academic “sin”


U.S. Copyright Law Dates from 1790
Mentioned in the Constitution directly
This was important in the minds of the framers

Creates a more innovative society; encourages creators with incentive.

To promote the development of useful arts and sciences.

It becomes copyrighted once it is published.
Once something is set in a fixed tangible medium, it is protected under U.S. federal copyright.

The term of copyright for U.S. published works is now author’s life+70 years.

Mickey Mouse Sonny Bono Act extended from 50 years after author’s death to 70 years.

Trademarks (symbols) and patents are different than copyright (ideas, creative works).

In practice, copyright comes down to an economic model. Works for the public as much as it works for a corporation.

It is a felony to commit a copyright infringement involving more than 10 copies and a value of more than $2500.

Diane Graves-campus copyright officer
Take down notice-stop doing what you are doing; have very good hackers and detectors (record date, time, and IP address) ask for names (sepenas), and the University has to give them their names and tell them cease and desist.


Recording Industry Assn. of America
Motion Picture Association of America
Entertainment Software Association

The Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008) obliges colleges and universities that host computer networks to provide “alternatives to illegal downloading”



The HEOA has three key provisions that affect colleges and universities:

  1. Must make an annual disclosure to students Re: Copyright and campus policies;
  2. Must develop a plan to combat unauthorized file-sharing, to include the use of  “technology-based deterrents”
  3. Must implement a system to provide alternatives to illegal downloading



The Special Case of Education: Fair Use

Positive defense against infringement; justification

Four factors to consider whether or not it is Fair Use
  1. Purpose of the reproduction- Why are you actually reproducing this work?
  2. Nature of the work that you are copying (entertainment is a commodity) Economic issue.
  3. The amount that you are reproducing
  4. The effect that your work has on the right’s holder


Fair use continues to protect you once you are outside of the university.

Derivative work: taking characters already created and altering the environment.

Parody is protected: it is a form of critique.

Any and all educational use is not always “fair use”

Creative commons-Creates more of an open culture








Tuesday, September 14, 2010

My Trinity Network Diagram

I built this diagram of the Trinity Network in order to clarify what exactly allows us, as Trinity students, to connect to the Internet, access drives and folders, etc. Hopefully this diagram will aid in your understanding the function and capacity of the Trinity University Network.





Thursday, September 9, 2010

Try to solve the Trinity University mystery!

 This is a disguised well-known location on the Trinity University campus. Most Trinity students will often pass by here many times a day. You might possibly pass it on your way to research, read, study quietly, or grab a Javalanche for a study break. If you are lucky, your class might enjoy spending time here when the weather is irresistible. Whether hanging out in this location, or just passing by, this area is said to be quite "magical."

I altered this photograph using Picnik. I flipped the image, faded it, changed the color saturation and contrast, added text, used the "sketch" feature, and changed the brightness. The altered design of the photo gives it a modern magazine look. Can you tell me where this is located???

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Best Tech Tip

One of the best things I learned about Joe Hatch was the facts about Clean Access.

Clean access: provides network security and a safe environment
Checks for:

• Security patches

• Sophos Antivirus program

• Virus “def. date”

• Shows how often antivirus programs are updating themselves. It is usually scheduled to auto update.

• It is relevant on PC and Mac; supports Macs

• Windows controls about 90% of all desktop platforms

• 99% of businesses use Windows

• Mac is great for the person computing industry