View from a Farley The Current Events and Opinion Weblog of Chris Farley

Educating Students on Intellectual Property

On a school trip I participated in last spring, one of the students turned on the bus’s entertainment system, and put in an illegally obtained copy of a then-unreleased film. None of the chaperones intervened.

That incident illustrates a much broader problem, and is a reflection of the experiences of my generation. We were the first generation to grow up with an iPod in one pocket and a cell phone in the other, and then see them combined into one device. Now we expect anything, anywhere, any time, and for free. Illegal file-sharing and piracy are rampant among teens and young adults, but educators seem indifferent. Infringers are depriving right-holders of revenue, but they do not perceive their actions as theft.

My generation is the most digitally active ever, but the schools that we attend have played only a minor role in fostering digital savvy. Most schools have encouraged students to learn about the Internet only sporadically, and have watched in bewilderment as online social networking has chipped away at in-person social networking. While schools are not ignorant of the dangers of illegal file sharing, they seem to be woefully unaware of how widespread it is among students, and have consequently been passive in their approach to combating it. By their inaction, they have unintentionally encouraged the attitude that stealing music, movies, and software is like jaywalking — it’s illegal, but no one cares.

But file sharing is not like jaywalking; it’s like shoplifting. It is illegal, and people do care. The cost of not ramping up intellectual property education immediately is too great. Forrester Research estimated that by 2013, total music sales will be worth $9.2 billion, down nearly 40% from a peak of $14.6 billion in 1999. Record companies have turned to litigation to protect their sales (yet another risk associated with illegal file sharing). The move to litigation is a clear signal to some that the record companies are evil. They forget that artists voluntarily agree to deals with record companies because the companies provide valuable marketing and distribution services. The record companies’ litigation may not be the best long-term business plan, but they are protecting their investment in artists, and by extension, in art.

Schools are already making progress in teaching Internet safety, so they need only expand their message to include respect for intellectual property. Students are bombarded with messages about the dangers of Facebook and MySpace and lessons about how to be safe online. In teaching respect for intellectual property, however, schools have been stunningly deficient. Illegal file sharing or piracy may be less physically dangerous than meeting an online stranger in person, but the intellectual property problem is far more widespread.

Using the Internet responsibly means being respectful of intellectual property and the owners of intellectual property. Schools should teach students the fundamentals of respecting intellectual property from the first introduction to the Internet, because in an age where things can be copied so easily, students should learn that just because they can do something does not mean that they should.

Today’s students embrace all that new technology and the Internet have to offer, and this generation will certainly reap the benefits of social networking; quick, easy, and legal file sharing; email; and mobile computing. Not every copy is illegal, so students should know how to differentiate between legal and illegal copying. Schools must be careful to encourage thoughtful exploration while cautioning against intellectual property infringement. Students can be responsible while still taking advantage of all that new technology has to offer.

Respect for intellectual property needs to be taught because it is anything but intuitive. A common perception is that once you “buy” any sort of content (like a DVD or song), you can do whatever you like with it — upload it to YouTube or make it available on a file sharing service, for example. Students are either unaware or simply do not care that they did not “buy” the content, but just paid for a license to consume the content in a certain way. If students do not like the terms of the license, then they do not have to buy it.

Perhaps the Coldplays and U2s of the world are not struggling in poverty because of illegal file sharing (their highest profit margins are in concert ticket sales), but the situation is nearly impossible for small up-and-coming bands, non-performing artists, actors, authors, and movie studios. If millions of illegal file sharers slowly erode copyright, they will also erode what the Constitution calls “the progress of science and useful arts.”

Schools are uniquely placed to teach students the law, and then allow them to question the law. There is a legitimate debate about whether copyright in its current form is the best possible system, but students should learn what the law is, even if they do not agree with it. Students should learn how to protect themselves from litigation, be respectful of content that does not belong to them, and then learn how to effect a change if they believe the current system is wrong.