Laura Smith Questions July 10

1) In Lessig's introduction, he shares some examples of cases when copyright law seemed to go too far, pursuing violations based on a vague principle of ownership rather than the practical economic and artistic protections that copyright laws seem intended to provide. Lessig says that modern day copyright laws result in what he calls "collateral damage" (18) to artists that use remix methods to create art. How do you think that we could open up copyright laws (or, on the other hand, restrict copyright laws) to allow for remix artists and their work?

2) Rife aims to educate us about fair use and copyright laws, and encourages us to help our students become proficient at navigating fair use and copyright in their own work. However, between the laws themselves and their murky application, developing any sort of proficiency seems overwhelming. Even her suggested teaching methods and syllabus seem to outline a whole course, rather than something that could be covered in a day or a week. For our 2135/1101 students, how can we make this knowledge digestible within the time and curricular limitations that we have?