Reactions/Classroom Connections - 8900

In an art education classroom, the topic of copyright, intellectual property, and ideation are extremely relevant. I recall having a discussion with my middle school art teacher about copyright after making a ceramics piece in the likeness of my favorite character, Spongebob Squarepants. She allowed me to make the piece, but explained to me that she would not be able to display it in the hallway because of copyright reasons. I understood her reasoning at the time, and still do now. I am not sure what I would do given this situation, but I think that I would most likely suggest for the student to create his or her own character from imagination. For this reason, I think that a discussion on this topic is very valid and relevant to today's students. One of the most interesting things that I learned from the videos was that each industry has its own limits on the protection of ideas and work. I think that these questions would make for great prompts in the art classroom:

1. Do you think copyright laws that have existed in the past are appropriate for the future?
2. Do you think downloading music should be illegal?
3. If you are an artist, and you sold your artwork via the internet, how would you feel if people downloaded it and displayed it for free?
4. What should the limits be on the limitation of ideas and intellectual property for the 21st century?
5. Are there any circumstances under which intellectual property should not be limited?
6. How do you apply laws to platforms that are designed for sharing... ex: Pinterest, twitter, etc.?
7. Why are copyright laws different across industries? Why does the world of fashion have such loose copyright laws compared to the world of music?