Understanding copyright law

A quick search of YouTube yields numerous examples of fan-made trailers, films and music videos created by young people through the repurposing of copyrighted material. The pervasiveness of this digital participatory culture has caused Werklund School of Education’s Catherine Burwell to want to learn more about how young people interpret copyright law.

Burwell’s current project explores the pedagogical implications of youth digital culture, specifically, their shifting attitudes to copyright, and their influence on contemporary modes of cultural production.
“Young people are encountering copyright law constantly. Every time they download something, every time they share something, every time they remix something they are actually negotiating with copyright law,” she says.

“We need to know more about what it is they know about copyright law, what they are thinking about copyright law and a little sense of what they think is ethical in terms of reusing digital material.”

But, according to Burwell, digital creators are not content merely with posting ‘vids’, they are actively involved in the debate surrounding legal rights.

“The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) was met with significant opposition worldwide when it was proposed in 2012. Here in Canada, there was a great deal of public dialogue – including input from young citizens -- as governments attempted to amend the Copyright Act several times over the past decade. This process of public debate continues with current discussions around interpretations of the Copyright Modernization Act, passed in 2012.”

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