On 9/30, Julia asked about my opinion regarding the following: I bought a copy of Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego that I would like to load on one computer for my students to use, but I'm not sure I can. I would only load it on one, but more than one person would have access in the school setting. What are your thoughts on this?
- Take a look at thecopyright agreement for Carmen San Diego. Re-read it. Does it allow the sharing of the program among multiple computers on a network? Some network options will permit multiple computers to share ONE copy of a software program. However, networking software is not covered under fair use terms. If you would like to request and amendent to the agreement, contact the copyright owner to gain permission to use it with your network. If the amendment is approved, GET IT IN WRITING BEFORE doing it!! For more detailed information take a look at the reference list. Look on p. 138.
- Anyone that lends a copy from the library and makes an unauthorized copy of a computer program is committing a violation of the copyright law for the program. Only if a license agreement allows multiple computers to use the same program, should the program be allowed to be kept on a teacher's computer. I hope that I understood and answered your question completely.
References
Simpson, C. (2005). Computer software in schools. In Copyright for schools (pp. 131-141).
3 comments:
Thanks for answering my question! I guess that means that you can borrow the software and use it without fully installing it on your computer. I am going to find out if my library lends software and how that works.
I agree with - when in doubt - ask and get it in writing. It seems with software copyright issues vary from software to software and it is all spelled out in the licensing agreement. It still seems like we need a doctorate in copyright law to understand it.
Thanks for all the terrific information, Erica! Great job, Janet
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