Copyrighting

     With all of the technology that surrounds us, it is easy to access digital copies of nearly any type of media whenever we want. For that reason, copyrighting is a huge issue today. As described in Copyright and Fair Use, students have access to not only all the information they could ever need online, they also have access to term papers, test answers, and other education based materials that may allow them to cheat and receive scores they don't deserve. They can also download movies, music, and more all for free, cheating the artists and production companies of profits they should be making. While the music and movies are still an issue, this article is a little unsuccessful in proving its argument, as it seems to be a little outdated. Since I started high school, my teachers have all used websites that compare your paper to any written piece on the web to identify those who buy papers or who plagiarize. This is an improvement to past methods stated in the article, which included writing outlines and rough drafts to prove that your work was your own. Still, using copyrighted documents to cheat is an issue with today's students. Overall, I have to agree that we must find even more proactive ways to prevent students from cheating with copyrighted documents.
     On a similar note, the article interviewing DJ Spooky addresses the issue of downloading copyrighted music for free. Spooky stated that he feels this should be legal, as it allows for a better free flow of music; it is free advertising for new artists and it allows cultures to be better shared through their music. I completely disagree with DJ Spooky. While it is true that free downloading may benefit new artists by giving them free marketing and spreading their music much farther and faster, it fails to benefit the established artists, and they are the ones being downloaded the most. We are in a digital age where people download music, few still by CD's. Therefore, artists are only making money from shows and from music downloads. "Record Sales" are kind of a thing of the past. Overall, I feel that permission to download any type of document, be it educational, entertainment, or some other form, should come from those who created it.