Students enjoy composing their own music. Now we need to learn the basics of copyright and fill out the forms necessary to copyright our works.
Lesson 011
Objectives:
* Students will read the information available from the copyright books
studied in class.
* Students
will learn how to complete and send copyright forms to the
Library of Congress Copyright Office in Washington, D.C.
* Students will continue to work on their compositions, using
Sibelius now.
* Students will complete at least one worksheet from the Sibelius
worksheets available on the Quizzes and Games pages.
* Students will continue their studies on the Music Ace 1 Lessons
Materials:
Computers, printer,
Music Ace, Sibelius, worksheets printed from website, copyright books to study
- the Official Copyright User's Guide (1998-2000
Official Software, LLC. http://www.officialsoftware.com)
and Music
Copyright for the New Millennium by
David Moser (copyright 2002, MixBooks - ArtistPro Publishing
ISBN 1-931140-16-2).
Procedures: Students
should have prior knowledge of how to write a composition using
the computer and keyboard. They should also be familiar with
the process of making a CD, discussed in earlier lessons.
Also, they should be familiar with navigating our web site
and how to find the Sibelius Worksheets.
Using the Official
Copyright User's Guide (Copyright.gov),
have
the students to read and discuss the Introduction to Copyright.
Note the basic concepts, such as:
- the difference between a copyright, trademark and patent
- copyrightable works and how long copyrights last
- works not protected by copyright
- what is fair use?
- how to correctly choose and complete the copyright form
- the cost involved in sending in works to be copyrighted
- receiving the copyright registration form and registration number
Students
should go to the official website for current copyright forms
and select the correct form to print. We will complete the
copyright form as a group effort. Copies may be made of the
form to add to the students' portfolios. Students should
note that once the registration is received by the Copyright
Office, it immediately is effective, but we may not receive
the actual certificate of registration until six to eight
months later.
What
is the address to send the copyrighted works to? Library
of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue, SE,
Washington, D.C. 20559-6000.
Read
portions of the Music
Copyright for the New Millennium by David
Moser.
In the book, "the new technologies available for
music through the Internet and other devices make it very
easy to infringe
upon the rights of the creators of music and other works.
Also discussed is the fact that people mistakenly think that
everything available throughout the Internet can be 'free
for the user'. It is important to note what can and cannot
be
used, and how to seek permissions from creators of works
if you plan to use them on the Internet or for public performances
/ use. Also, we must realize that everything we do in daily
life uses copyrighted materials, from listening to a CD,
radio or television, reading newspapers, books, magazines,
and using software." Moser also writes that "the
music industry (songs and sound recordings) are forms of
property that are
protected by copyright. Without copyrights, creators and
publishers would not be able to earn income from their music
recordings."
The book discusses many topics, some listed here from the
Preface of the book:
- What is copyright and why is it important?
- How did copyright law originate and evolve?
- What is and is not protected by copyright?
- What provisions are made relevant to musical works?
- What is copyright infringement?
- How can you get permissions to use copyrighted works?
- How does copyright laws work in relation to changing technologies?
- What does the future hold for copyright law?
Read portions of Chapter 7, (page 74, Public Performance and Display
Rights). Discuss this with the students and how it relates
to our performance even at our school. On page 112-113 (Chapter
9, Copyright Formalities), read the information about 'What
Should A Copyright Notice Contain' and 'Where Should Copyright
Notice Be Placed.' Copyright symbol example: ©
These
books are excellent resources and can be used with any
age group. It is best for students to learn at a young
age the
importance of copyright and issues related to it. Even
on our website, an attempt for permission is requested
to use
copyrighted pictures and sound files. Some of the pictures
and files are in the Public Domain. Discuss this term with
the students. Many of our pictures and sound files were
created by Ms. Garrett. Discuss the fact that even some
of our own copyrighted pictures, sound files, lessons
and quizzes
have been copied and used on other websites without permission.
Most of the time, Ms. Garrett has been able to view these
sites through our website statistics and notify the site
creator of the problem. This is very prevalent now because
of the Internet access becoming increasingly available
throughout the world. Many of the companies related
to music and software
actually ask to have their copyrighted (trademarked) pictures
or logos placed on our website to provide a link to their
resources for sale or available to the public.
Ask
students to notice...
* What form is needed for them to copyright their songs?
* What types of material can we create that needs to be sent in with the
forms to the Copyright Office?
* Why
is it important to copyright your works or creations?
* How much does it cost to copyright a creation? Would it be better to
copyright a collection of our work or to copyright each individual song?
* Where do you find the forms that you need to complete to copyright your
works?
* What is Public Domain and Fair Use? How does it work?
* What should you do if you want to use a work that has been copyrighted?
* What items do you use everyday that involve copyrights? (i.e. TV, Radio,
CD's, etc.)
* How can you find current information about copyright laws and use?
* What should we do before we perform copyrighted music in public performances?
*
Other comments
* Continue working on Sibelius
compositions. We have worksheets available for students
to study on the Worksheets pages on our site.
Students can view these worksheets on their computers and
complete them using Sibelius. If they have Internet access
at home, they can also work on these sheets anytime. Sheets
may be printed. Students need the free Scorch viewer to see
the files on their computers.
* Continue lessons in Music
Ace 1. Students will be on various lessons and should view
the Student Progress
poster in our classroom to see which lesson to begin.
Extra
Activities:
*
Students may want to visit various websites for finding more
information
about copyright. Parents should always supervise their
children at home when using the Internet. Can you find
websites or TV, CD, Books, etc. that have violated copyrights?
* Students may also complete more Quizzes and Games on
our website, along with working on Sibelius Worksheets.
Posted
student compositions are on the 'Student
Work' pages of this site.
Evaluation:
*
Students will be able to demonstrate an understanding of
a copyright
and its use.
* Students will be able to find, print, complete the correct
copyright form as it relates to their compositions and recordings,
and turn it in to the teacher for review.
* Students should be able to identify types of material that
they use or see everyday that use copyrights.
* Students will complete and turn on at least one Sibelius
Worksheet from the Worksheets section of this site.
* Students will complete at least one Music Ace lesson based
on their current progress reports.
