Regardless of how much I thought I knew about the world of copyright, I always continue to learn and grow. The video presentation was very clear and concise in how it explained the world of copyright, as well as the legalities involved. I was actually shocked by quite a few topics discussed and I found myself going back and rewatching certain sections a few times. I really enjoyed hearing a first hand account from someone who has practical experience and works with copyright on a daily basis. This made the presentation relatable and gave me those “uh huh” moments.

Knowing that researchers/publishers are continually scanning (“trolling”) the internet looking for their work was interesting. 100% understandable, but I did not think people would take the time to do this. I am always so appreciative when I can translate what I learn into my day to day life and I really enjoy being left with more questions that I can look into. At work, we use a program called “Turnitin”, and this program basically searches the internet to see if a student has plagiarized material, how much and from where. I was left wondering what program they were using to scan and how effective it was. When I went to look this up, the amount of programs designed to identify copyright infringement/plagiarism was overwhelming. I also saw there is software designed to combat these programs… which took me down a rabbit hole that was quite frankly shocking.

It has always been confusing to me how someone could use anothers idea and not give them credit. I feel this is such poor integrity, but it happens so much more than we expect. Understanding the difference between misreferencing and plagiarism can be confusing, but it is essential to be successful and not get into some serious trouble. I was actually a bit surprised by some of the laws put in place to combat this, such as Canada’s Copyright Law (Wrobel, 2016, 03:40). Having a law put into place displays this is clearly a larger problem than what I anticipated. As a student, we fear getting a zero or being ejected from the course/program for plagiarism. Knowing there are larger legalities, with more serious implications became a little more intimidating. With that being said, we have so many tools and resources at our fingertips (including Melanie’s video) that we don’t have an excuse to breach copyright infringement.

I felt like I took quite a bit away from Melanie’s presentation and I think all students need to watch this on day 1 of any program. It does install “the fear” a little, but in a good way. The more we know about copyright, with the how and why explained, the more we can understand the rationale and logic behind the rules involved.

References

Wrobel, M. (2016). A Guide to Copyright [Audio recording]. Retrieved from https://moodle.royalroads.ca/moodle/mod/page/view.php?id=347413