Copyright infringement is an increasingly relevant topic that goes along with the growth of the internet. As discussed in the previous assignment, I talked about the issues regarding the music industry, and how music can be easily obtained without anything going to the artist who created it. The copyright issue goes beyond this to other issues, according to Wikipedia, such as poems, thesis, plays, movies, photos, radio broadcasts etc. Copyright is also an issue to college students who obtain a lot of information from various sources that are used in papers. I believe that there are ways to satisfy both the holders of copyrights and the public, but the illegal usage of information will probably continue as long as it is so easily available.

In this article from Carlos Ovalle at the University of Texas at Austin has many important points. The purpose of copyrights is to benefit the public by providing them with information while still giving somebody the rights to the idea or creation. Both sides benefit from these laws. The creator feels confident that his/her ideas will not get stolen, therefore the public gets access to possibly new or otherwise unreleased information. The creator can also get rewarded financially for ideas that make money.

Additionally, that same article outlines copyright guidelines that are relevant to college aged students. These instances can also be found in the entire U.S. Code: Title 17 guide to copyrights. A teacher, using face-to-face learning can use information, visuals, and performances to educate students without violating laws. However, web-based education would be different. Public libraries can make copies of documents as long as they are not used for commercial gain. All these resources are here for students to use, and there is no reason to use it illegally. Especially in papers, it isn't to hard to cite sources using something like APA formatting.

There are many other copyright scenarios people might run into, such as file sharing. Most trouble can be avoided (like paying .99 cent for a song), but its up to the individual to take that chance. Overall, the copyright laws that are in place are to both benefit the public by making important information available, and benefit the creator by compensating them and allowing for a way for their information to be protected.