New animation: Intellectual Property Rights in the Web 2.0 world

Discussed in the Jisc-sponsored 'Digital Student' supplement in today's Guardian, it considers IPR for blogging, podcasting and other multimedia.

Confusion about IPR and its relation to Web 2.0 is widespread. The free Web2Rights online diagnostic tool, highlighted by the animation, seeks to address this within education, providing a step-by-step user guide to ensure the protection of both their and others’ copyright in using, deploying and repurposing content.  

The six-minute animation is accessible and colourful, portraying in a light-hearted way some of the issues involved via three typical case studies: a researcher, a lecturer and a student. These examples pinpoint areas where confusion exists, or even where many may not consider IPR to be an issue at all, and signpost back to the online diagnostic tool for further guidance and information.  

As Web2Rights IPR consultant Naomi Korn says: "Web 2.0 has revolutionised education and practice, and in a very positive way, but there is a lack of understanding regarding copyright, and whether it applies. The basic fact is that IPR holds just as strongly with Web 2.0 content as it does with more traditional forms. The process of considering IPR should ideally be built in to every stage of creating or repurposing content found on the Web. This doesn’t have to be an onerous task – and our diagnostic tool aims to make this as clear a process as possible – but it can take time and effort. The animation highlights the issues in a very approachable way, and we hope this raises awareness among users in HE and FE to take IPR within their Web 2.0 activity seriously."

"The web2rights tool is of an extremely high quality, blending sound legal and policy advice with pragmatic solutions to ensure that IPR is not an inhibitor for learning, teaching and research activity."

Lawrie Phipps, programme manager for the Users and Innovation programme which initiated the project, added: "The web2rights tool is of an extremely high quality, blending sound legal and policy advice with pragmatic solutions to ensure that IPR is not an inhibitor for learning, teaching and research activity. We hope that what was initially put in place to advise and support Jisc projects will have much wider benefits for those across education as a whole, with the animation playing a key role in raising awareness."
 
The animation will be playing at the Jisc stand at Berlin’s Online Educa event from the 3-5 December 2008. It will also feature in the Web2Rights session at the same event, called 'Who Owns What on the Web'.