Franken-copyright in the academy
Posted in Copyright on August 26th, 2006Boing Boing: USC’s bizarre, non-legal copyright policy
Turns out our friend Cory Doctorow (see the video) is at USC for the year as a fulbright chair! This story’s truly bizarre and troubling for academic institutions. I thought the academy was supposed to protect scholars, not constrict them out of fear or ignorance?
…It purports to inform students about the contours and boundaries of copyright, but actually presents a collection of scare-tactic half-truths and astonishing statements about the purpose of the university.
In the letter, USC’s officers promise to spend students’ tuition on policing them on behalf of the entertainment industry, but make no comparable promise to protect them from the thousands of automated, baseless accusations generated by the RIAA, MPAA and BSA.