A Brief History of Copyright and Innovation

Subject:

Arts, Business, Science and Technology, Social Sciences

Institution Name:

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Collection:

Electronic Frontier Foundation

Grade Level:

Secondary, Post-secondary

Abstract:

From the framers of the Constitution, who were worried about books and pamphlets, to present-day stakeholders, who are concerned about DVDs, MP3s, and the Internet, the story of copyright law is an ongoing struggle to balance copyright holders' rights with and the public interest. New technologies constantly challenge that balance.

In this lesson, students will examine the historical relationship between copyright law and technological innovation in the U.S. Working in teams, they will research a technology and assess how it may have affected users and copyright holders, as well as whether or not a public controversy resulted from its use. With this historical context in mind, students will then examine current copyright policy debates about music downloading and file-sharing.

Course Type:

Learning Module

Material Type:

Lesson Plans

Media Format:

Text/HTML, Downloadable docs

Conditions of Use:

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0