In these weeks you will continue to learn about how intellectual property is assessed and protected. In addition you will learn about "Fair Use," which is an essential right allowing for the use of materials in this course. You will notice that the "default" position is to assume that the author is retaining all rights to the created work. Only under special circumstances may you use another's materials without compensation or permission. Be sure you understand how Fair Use is determined and when it is appropriate.
Recently there have been significant movements among authors and creators to retain less rights over their creations. For instance, if an author is not interested in income but rather would have the work more widely distributed and available to all interested people, the author might use Creative Commons instead of the more restrictive copyright. There are many online communities that are freely sharing their expertise in this way. For instance, Dr. Ewell has joined with other scholars at www.cnx.org (Connexions) to make many music theory materials available to students for free. This has saved his students at Towson University hundreds of dollars in textbook fees. You can view his materials at: http://cnx.org/content/expanded_browse_authors?letter=E&author=tewell
Perhaps some day you will also want to share your expertise
without a fee. You will learn more about Creative Commons and creative
communities in this section of the course.
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Copyright 2012-2019 by Terry B. Ewell and Luis C. Engelke. All Rights
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