Are lecture notes copyright infringement?
University of Florida professor Michael Moulton thinks copyright law protects the lectures he gives to his students, and he’s headed to court to prove it.
Moulton and his e-textbook publisher are suing Thomas Bean, who runs a company that repackages and sells student notes, arguing that the business is illegal since notes taken during college lectures violate the professor’s copyright.
This would be funny if this wasn’t an actual court case.
Doesn’t common sense revolt at this very idea? What is worse is that a Professor, someone who is supposed to spread ideas and mould the young, has taken this step.
Perhaps the day is not far when copyright notices will be put up in lecture halls and agreements signed before the beginning of each lecture in the temples of our learning. Perhaps the day is not far when true culture will cease to exist.
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I remember a long time ago when I was a young lecturer and I was reviewing a student’s thesis, I came across a passage that seemed familiar. It took me a while to work it out but yes it happened. A student had copied a passage verbatim from my own thesis and handed it in to me.
I confronted the student obviously, and somewhat indignantly. He pointed out that if he was to be disciplined for plagiarism then most of the lecturers in the university should be sacked. Point taken.
Why do lecturers believe that they can recycle textbooks in class? Why do textbook writers think they can recycle other textbooks?
Good luck to your professor! To his students I will give this advice. Never become involved with a quarrel with a university. You are there for three years. Get what you went there for. Have fun. And move along. There is a life to be lived!
Actually this is also the logic behind the battle between open source software advocates and the closed software manufacturers like Microsoft. A buyer of a software, having legally bought the product, must also have the right to understand how the software works as well as the right to modify the same to maximize its benefits. Unfortunately, this logic is not being bought by governments in most countries. Exception are the members of the European Union which revolutionized their policies and order Microsoft to make the software source codes available.
But should the case push through and the court decides in favor of the Professor, it’s hard to imagine students excelling in their chosen fields of expertise. Otherwise, they might be crushed with lawsuits for copyright infringements. =))
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