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Digital technologies have made copyright a very pertinent issue for historians because since their emergence there has become an easier way to access more history resources on the web. The general copyright rule for York Libraries is that if the material is not out of copyright, users are only able to copy 10% of the material; and usually it is up to the user to determine what 10% of the material is. However, as more people wish to use and/or copy the same material, more portions of it become available. This could potentially reach a point where so many people use/copy the same material, that almost all of it will be copied if you combine everyone’s individual interpretations of 10%. In one way or another these original documents that were protected by their copyright laws are becoming more publicly accessible. Maybe not publicly accessible to the vast public sphere, but to a certain degree of public viewing. Copyright is meant to protect original material from extensively being copied all time, but as more people access and copy the same material, the original’s authenticity and security is compromised. For these reasons copyright has become a major issue for historians.
Copy right was originally intended to allow those who create something to make royalties off of, and also to gain recognition for. The reason that it is a major issue for historians is that it is very difficult if not impossible to make use of cop right laws on the internet. As historians are also in may cases teachers, they wish to impart the knowledge either they wrote or a colleague wrote to their students, however without stringent guidelines or strict laws copying a book or other form of work becomes a major issue. In our very fast paced high tech world information is disseminated very quickly and this leads to many copy right issues that will be difficult to enforce or to really ignore.
As digital technologies are experiencing rapid evolution over the years, concerns over copyrights had marked as one of the critical areas for discourses. For many historians, some of the motivation behind their postings meant to hear different perspectives from other historians. Since digital technologies had offered many advantages in the accessibility of the information for users and visitors through online platforms, such as blog posts, websites and other technological approaches, the issues of copyrights had become more pertinent to historians. Copyrights are significant when it associated with commercial benefits, in making profits for individuals’ interest. Furthermore, historians are the key contributors in amending copyright policies and laws. As seen from the readings assigned this week, laws and regulations for copyrights are experiencing constant changes ever since the internet and the digital technologies evolved in our everyday lives. We- as students recognize the importance of copyrights when mentioning the sources that were not from our own, we would need to cite it, such as APA, MLA or Chicago. Above all, since digital technologies offered flexibility, accessibility and manipulability information to users, the issues with regards to copyrights will be present; thus, it is vital for users to be aware of copyrights.
I believe that copyright has become a more pertinent issue for historians due to the increase of digital technologies. The main reason for this is due to the accessibility of information online. As more and more users contribute to websites, blog posts and other social media platforms the authenticity of ones work becomes compromised. Copyright is used to protect the original material of ones work and prevent others from taking credit and making royalties. However, as many people are surfing the web, more and more users are able to access this information and interpret it. As historians, our role is to help preserve the original source through the maintaining of authenticity. Without this, one would be unable t capture the true primary source due to the multiple interpretations by users instead of the creator.
The meaning of copyright is very different in which society has used it in the past. When the term copyright was first mentioned and introduced in the sense of web use, it referred to contributors and authors of the site. When looking at a historical website, more importantly it refers to not only these people but also the original source in which the information is being interpreted or transcribed from. With the abundance of information available through technology, it is easy to get lost in who is to be recognized as the original source or author of any given text found. This is why the issue of copyright is such a pertinent issue for historians, especially in today’s society.
Thanks for all of your responses this week and for your in-class contributions to our discussion of copyright issues in digital history. This is, obviously, a complicated and often confusing issues. I hope that the readings cleared some things up.
Remember to check back with that chapter by Michael Geist as a good reference for understanding fair dealing and Canadian copyright law.
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