Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Fall Semester, 2008
MIT 6.805/6.806/STS085: Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier
Class on Nov. 6
Introduction to Copyright
The purpose of this class is to give you a basic grounding in copyright
law, and how copyrights differ from patents. Then we'll
touch on some of the controversies surrounding copyright and
the internet.
In the second half of the class, each person should to speak for a
couple of minutes about your paper. This should be a brief informal
report (no slides). You should say what your thesis is, give the
basic outline of your arguments in support of your thesis, and talk
about the main work you need to do in getting from here to the final
draft due on Nov. 24. For group papers, both partners should
present together.
Reading
-
Balance Toppled, chapter 6 of Blown to Bits, by Hal Abelson, Ken
Ledeen, and Harry Lewis. This chapter from Hal's recent book
describes for a general audience some of controversies around
copyright and the web.
- Find a copy of the U.S. copyright statute -- Title 17 USC.
Note that the entire statute is almost 300 pages long!
Read the follwing sections:
- Sections 102 and 106 on the scope of copyright
- Sections 107 on fair use
- Section 1201: the anti-circumvention provisions enacted by the
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Section 512: the DMCA safe harbor, and "notice and take-down" provisions
Mini Research Project
According to 17 USC §512(c)(2), each ISP must have a designated
agent to handle notices of infringement and must make this information available on
a public Web site. How does MIT comply with this provision? Who is
MIT's designated agent and where is the public notice?