I'm currently taking a Telecommunications Law and Policy class.  Exciting, huh?  Actually it is.  I'm enjoying this class much more than I had anticipated.  Anyway, one of our assignments is to write a paper on a law effecting our (IT, IS, etc.) industry. 

At first I was thinking I was going to write mine on Internet privacy… but then someone asked the professor for an idea and of course he said "Internet privacy is a really hot topic right now."  Thanks… So, now I've decided to write about intellectual property.

So what is intellectual property?  We hear about it a lot, or at least I do, but how many people actually know what this term means?

Intellectual property refers to "creations of the mind" (http://www.wipo.int/about‐ip/en/).  Wow, that's nice and vague… kind of like most laws.  One site that I know has had a lot of issues with this is wisecampus.com.  Wisecampus is a place where students can post notes for class and then you can search notes.  Note posters get points which can be redeemed for gift cards. 

I actually use the site.  It's paid for most of my books throughout my education.  However, the issue comes into play when students are taking the professors notes and directly uploading them.  Those notes are the intellectual property of the professor or the publishing company that created them.  In order to get around this,  I (gasp!) take notes during class! Then, the notes are mine, because I created them.  I've heard students have actually been kicked out of classes and even school because basically it's plagiarism, which is frowned upon in the collegiate setting, but then you're even getting "paid" for it… not good at all. 

So, the moral of this post is don't lie, cheat, or steal.  Ya know, those things you learned when you were in preschool. 

More to come on this....
© 2011 Adrienne McEwan