http://salon.com/tech/feature/2001/07/16/abc_ip/index.html # # Why can't Johnny respect copyrights? # # In Britain, elementary-school classrooms prepare to preach # reverence for intellectual property -- and to denounce the # evils of file-sharing. # # - - - - - - - - - - - - # # By Alan Docherty # # July 16, 2001 # # If members of the U.K.'s Creative Industries Task Force # [ http://www.culture.gov.uk/creative/creative_industries.html ] # have their way, British teenagers will soon be cramming # for tests on intellectual property law and the legal implications # of file-sharing. Schoolkids who download illicit MP3 files, cut # and paste newspaper articles or e-mail them, or exchange JPEG # files of Britney Spears will learn the error of their ways -- # at least according to the copyright officials. # # Classroom indoctrination is one way of targeting the Napster # demographic. But can it work? # # To get a glimpse of this possible future of British elementary # education, one must wade through a study produced by the task # force's Intellectual Property Group, which includes represent # atives from British broadcasting, the music industry, publishers # and others with an interest in protecting copyrighted material. # The Report of the Intellectual Property Group of the Creative # Industries Task Force # [ http://www.patent.gov.uk/copy/notices/pdf/ipgroup.pdf ] # recommends, among other things, that copyright be brought into # the classroom -- not as a separate course, necessarily, but # integrated into the regular curriculum. # # "Copyright is relevant to music, art, information, technology, # and English; and patents and design rights are relevant to science # and design technology," reads the report. It goes on to recommend # specific ways teachers might make copyright issues a little more # real to their 12- to 18-year-olds: "School children should # recognize their own creativity by including the copyright symbol # on their course work." # # # Interest in bringing copyright into the classroom is growing # among government officials in Britain as well. Chris Smith, # secretary of state for culture, media and sport, recently said: # "Intellectual property rights are at the heart of the new # knowledge economy and are of vital importance to the creative # industries. Greater recognition by the public of the role and # importance of intellectual property rights must be encouraged." # # Intellectual property is already a part of the British school # system, but mostly in the higher grades. An "Intellectual Property # Pack Set," a CD-ROM designed to "Give Students Competitive Edge," # [ http://www.prowse.co.uk/O240500.html ] # is produced by the Patent Office in conjunction with Bournemouth # University and distributed to students across the country. # Meanwhile, officials at the Patent Office, which is responsible # for copyright, patents and trade marks in the U.K., are holding # regular meetings with officials at the Department for Education # and Skills to bring intellectual property issues into the # curriculum at an early age. # # So where does copyright fit in to the classroom fare of a British # 12-year-old? Teaching intellectual property is one of many # competing areas trying to be part of the "citizenship" subject, # which will become compulsory in U.K. secondary schools beginning # in September 2002. This new citizenship program aims to teach # pupils social and moral responsibility, political literacy, sex # education and the importance of marriage and family life. # # According to the Patent Office's director of copyright, Anthony # Murphy, a major proponent of the new program, understanding # intellectual property carries important social value: "By bringing # awareness of the importance of copyright into our schools, # tomorrow's consumers can take their place in a community which # understands, values and respects intellectual property." # # But even the program's proponents agree that teenagers may not # be receptive to a program that teaches them that trading MP3s # is morally wrong. Anthony Murphy acknowledges that: "The idea # that counterfeiting and piracy are victimless crimes is an all # too common perception." # # Jessica Litman, professor of law at Wayne State University and # author of "Digital Copyright," agrees. "Young people, and other # people, believe in a version of the copyright law that is # different from the one now on the books. Many of them believe, # for example, that if you buy a CD, you buy the right to share # it. " # # Some opponents also argue that it may be inappropriate to be # bringing intellectual property (I.P.) education into the classroom # when laws surrounding it are so hotly contested. Litman says # that educating children on the difference between "good" and # "bad" behavior is tough in a field that's in flux: "Any effort # to include I.P. in a moral education curriculum has to grapple # with the fact that the moral choices made in extant versions # of I.P. law are highly contested." # # Finally, if controversy over intellectual property can be managed # into a school curriculum, will students learn the lesson? As # with the American DARE program, will educators find that telling # students what decision to make might actually backfire? # [ http://salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/02/16/dare/print.html ] # # According to James Davison Hunter, professor of sociology and # religious studies at the University of Virginia and author of # "The Death of Character," "Moral education programs have little # or no positive effect upon moral behavior, achievement or anything # else." # # The desire to preach citizenship reflects a deep-rooted anxiety # about whether young people can grow into law-abiding citizens. # Copyright educators can only hope that students aren't immune # to their teachings.