Jen Library Reference Department

Itching to see the new X-Men movie?  Well, you may not have to wait that long.  Yesterday, on April Fool’s Day, techno-pirates released an unfinished copy of the movie over the internet.  What kind of implications will this have?

Studio executives spent the day trying to get web sites to take it down.  The movie is not set to release until May 1st.  If the pirates are found, this is definitely a copyright issue and the studio will have cause to sue.  This could also potentially have an effect on the market value of the film if people who saw the film online are now no longer interested in paying to see it in the theater.  Read all about it here!

What do you think of pirated movies?

Hmmm…

In the Reference Department, we often get asked questions about using images, music, and more that students find on Google. The answer is always: “NO–you should never use images, music, etc. that you find on the open web.” This is not a popular answer!

Read this article from the Chronicle of Higher Education. A student from Boston University is being sued by Sony BMG. He allegedly downloaded 7 songs illegally and can be fined up to $150,000 for each song. That’s $1,050,000!

These companies mean business–and Google does do. So think twice before sharing or using anything you find on the open web. Instead, please use either the SCAD Digital Image Database or ARTstor for images.  These are both accessible from the Visual Resources Center page linked from the library homepage; just login to your MySCAD first.

Need sounds?  Come into the library and search for “sound effects” or the name of the sound or music you need.  You can then check out the sound disc from the Circulation Desk and will have full use of it in the library for up to 4 hours.

And you can’t get sued for using the library!

Today, a small story was in SCAD’s very own District.  Check out the commentary by Travis Walters.  Walters brings up some very interesting questions, especially about the photographer that took the photo Fairey used for inspiration.  It will be interesting who the court decides owns the photograph.

This case could have implications for SCAD graduates’ work in the future.  This is definitely an important story to follow.

So, last week the AP was suing Shepard Fairey over copyright infringement for the image used for the Obama HOPE poster.  Then, the artist was arrested in Boston before the opening of his show at the Institute of Contemporary Art.  Now, Fairey is suing the AP alleging that he is protected under fair use.  This is a story that the SCAD community should be following!  Check out the latest in the New York Times.

Other newspapers carrying this story include the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Washington Post and more.

To track Fairey’s Boston arrest for charges of graffiti, check out the Boston Globe.

That’s right, copyright strikes again!  Learn what illegal file sharing is and how to avoid it.  An article in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education mentions possible new laws to deal with “student pirates.”  Don’t be one of them!

Places to get good quality information on copyright:

1. UCLA has a good overview of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act.  You might want to be familiar with the basics.
2. Art Law for Everyone is a blog by Elizabeth Russell out of Madison, Wisconsin.  She is a lawyer who represents those in creative industries (such as artists!).  She is also a frequent speaker at art library conferences and a columnist in Art Calendar magazine.  She often blogs on copyright.
3. Simply do a keyword search in the library catalog for “copyright.”  There’s a wealth of information right in your own library!

We’ll post more on copyright issues as we learn about changes, challenges, etc.  Or, feel free to ask one of the Reference Librarians if you have questions.