In Tuesdays lectorial we had a number of guest speakers, including Anne Lennox, who is RMIT’s Senior Coordinator Copyright Management + Digital (University Library). She discussed the various issues relating to copyright that we as media students face.

These include rights of ownership for content you created, as well as the responsibility not to infringe on other peoples copyright.

Also explained was the more complex components of copyright law, such as creative commons, length of copyright duration (authors life +70 years) and the exceptions under Fair Dealing, which allows for critque or review. As well as satire and parody without the risk of being taken down. There are however limits.

We also talked about the ease of which online social media sites like Facebook or Pinterest can easily breach copyright law.

It is a very complex and sometimes confusing issue, and as a Media student I will take extra care to avoid getting into trouble.