p2p news / p2pnet:- Supposed copyright infringement of the third kind is causing problems at the Portland State University, says the school’s Vanguard.

“Packets provide the widest array of sources for students, and can often be obtained for a fraction of the cost of books. Course packets are not illegal as long as copy outlets follow copyright law,” says the story.

But the university is, “cracking down on faculty members who have been circumventing copyright law by using copying stores to create packets of excerpts that do not adhere to the law,” says the Vanguard, going on, “Rumors rapidly circulated last month among faculty that Smart Copy, a family-run copying center often used by professors to create course packets, was being sued for copyright infringement.

"No lawsuit had been filed with Multnomah County against Smart Copy as of Oct. 12, and Smart Copy employees declined to comment.”

University Studies director Judy Patton said in an email that some professors were “having difficulty with the copyright law and packets” and warned them to follow Portland State’s copyright policy, says the story, which has PSU reference librarian and information resources management coordinator Sarah Beasley saying the issue of copyright law isn’t a joke.

Those who own intellectual property, such as publishers and record companies, are aggressively securing their rights to it and, “The issue of the music industry going after 12-year-old kids, it’s all part of this,” the Vanguard has Beasley declaring.

“It’s not a little area. Some universities have a copyright lawyer. It’s a major subject.”

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First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win
- Mohandas Gandhi

Tired of being treated like a criminal? They depend on you, not the other way around. Don’t buy their ‘product’. Do bug your local political representatives. Use emails, snail-mail, phone calls, faxes, IM, stop them in the street, blog. And if you’re into organizing, organize petitions, organize demonstrations and then turn up on your local political rep’s doorstep, making sure you’ve contacted your local tv/radio station/newspaper in advance.

See:-
Vanguard – PSU cracks down on copyright law, October 14, 2005

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 15th, 2005 at 3:52 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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