1.
Thou shalt accept that only God can know
everything there is to know about copyright law.
2. Thou shalt accept that mere mortals such as
yourself will go mad if you try to know everything about
copyright law.
3.
Copyright law is merely a subset of
intellectual property law. Thou shalt accept that the world of intellectual
property law is greater than your tiny mind. The World Intellectual Property
Organization lists no less than 123
texts (43 laws, 28 implementing regulations and 52 treaties)
relating to New Zealand, a country of less than 5 million people.
4.
Thou shalt ignore flatterers who try to
persuade you that you are the omniscient source of wisdom about copyright
matters. Flattery is a way of getting somebody else to do something you do not
want to do yourself. Don’t be flattered into making the copyright headaches
of others your own.
5.
If, however, for your sins you are the “resident
copyright guru”, thou shalt accept that while you do not know everything, it is
your job to find out the answers. Poor you. But moving on …
6.
Thou shalt accumulate a file of guidelines
and resources to help you find the answers in real time.
7.
Thou shalt be vigilant for databases
containing copyright friendly (free) resources.
8.
Thou shalt relentlessly preach the virtues of
attribution to staff and students.
9.
Thou shalt not be so stupid as to talk about
anything and everything else but attribution when discussing copyright with
other people. Talk about attribution first, and worry about other details
later, if at all.
10. Thou
shalt go home at the end of the day and forget about it all. God only knows
what laws, regulations and treaties tomorrow will bring.
Copyright query reference resources available online:
No copyright on certain works: Section 27 of The Copyright Act 1994
Funny! Hope this is copyright :)
ReplyDeleteto make the right copy is to copyright :)
ReplyDelete