Student+Activities

= Think you know all the answers? Or at least know enough to give it a go? Try the following activities: = = = 1. Harry Potter & The Copyright Crisis  = = You've now got the basic understanding of the Four Factors Test under your belt. You know the jargon; you're practically a copyright pro! To test your own understanding, check out an article that discusses this very concept in relationship to JK Rowling's famous works of the wizarding world and "The Harry Potter Lexicon," an on-line guide to the series, sponsored by RDR Books. Check out this [|website] and decide for yourself, based on your knowledge of the Four Factors Test, if you are Team Rowling or Team RDR.

2. Harry Potter...or Willy the Wizard? 

Claims that Rowling stole the idea of Harry Potter are as old as [|Nicolas Flamel] (until he stopped using the Sorcerer's Stone, of course) and gold galleons. The most recent development? The estate of fellow British author Adrian Jacobs maintains their position that Mr. Potter is really the direct literary descendant of Jacobs' very own Willy the Wizard. Check out this [|article] that discusses Jacobs' point of view and answer the following question:
 * Based on your knowledge of the Four Factors Test of Fair Use, what other information do you need to know in order to decide whether or not Jacobs has a case?

3. Did This Teen Go Too Far? 

Read[| this article] and decide if you think this teen went too far with her remixing and the claim that she represents the new generation of remixing. Do you think she deserves to be in contention for the $20,000 award? Did she follow the guidelines of fair use or cross the line?

4. Your Right to Write

Scenario: Your school uses an anti-cheating database to root out plagiarism in English classrooms. The way this works is this: your essay is submitted to the database and compared against millions (like 22 million!) other essays. In turn, your essay is added to the database to be used by the company in future attempts to thwart plagiarism.

As a non-cheater, how do you feel about your essay being used by the company? Does this violate what you know about copyright infringement? Why or why not? Write a brief reaction paper on this topic and then visit this [| site] to read about the real-life incident that occurred in Arizona.