Copyright theft

Schools and parents are in the best position to inform students of the importance of respecting copyright and valuing the creative effort invested in copyrighted works. Further as distributors, guardians and owners of intellectual property themselves, schools have a huge incentive (and responsibility) to instill in their students such respect and values.

The following are some steps schools can take toward educating students about illegal ﬁle-sharing and copyright infringement generally:

Institute “acceptable use” policies that clearly outline the appropriate use of school resources. Such policies should illustrate unacceptable behavior, including illegal ﬁle-sharing, and provide details on penalties imposed for failure to abide by such regulations. A comprehensive policy, however, is only as useful as it is accessible; administrations should ensure that students (and others) are able to ﬁnd these policies on the school website and elsewhere.
Include information on copyright, piracy, and illegal ﬁle-sharing in orientation materials.
Inform parents, through letters and at orientation, of the seriousness of copyright infringement and the penalties imposed, both legally and academically, for violations. Encourage them to discuss the risks with their children.
Require students to pass a quiz about P2P ﬁle-sharing and piracy before allowing access to the school’s computing network. This educates the student and provides documentation negating any claim of lack of awareness.
Engage students by incorporating discussion of illegal ﬁle-sharing on school websites, and in papers and classrooms.
Launch pervasive and visible anti-piracy campaigns using posters, brochures, banners, videos, ﬂiers, etc.
Send periodic e-mails directly from the Head/Principal to remind students that the school takes copyright infringement very seriously and to indicate the seriousness of any offense.

Thursday, February 23, 2012