Copyright and Fair Use

The most useful thing I took from the lecture on copyright was that anyone can sue you for anything.  I knew civil law regarding copyright could be stringent, but I didn't think it was that stringent.  However, it's good to know there are a few protections for people who want to work with copyrighted material, such as Fair Use.  If classrooms want to stay relevant, I think such a policy that protects the teachers from legal action when using media is essential.  I guess you could say that if a work is disseminated among students (such as a copy of a film being discussed, or something), those students would have no reason to pay for the work; but I think this position overlooks the fact that in an educational setting not everyone has equal access to a copy for whatever reason, especially if it is a public secondary school.  In such a setting, it makes more sense for the school or teacher providing the education to also provide the material (like textbooks in public school).  Infringing on education seems to me more like a nuisance than a protection of property.

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