A Guide to Copyright Licensing in Schools

The Patent Office has collaborated with the Institute for Citizenship and the National Consumer Council over the production of ‘Net Benefit’, a CD-Rom based interactive educational resource for secondary schools about the Internet, copyright and the consumer. This resource helps to deliver some of the strands of the new citizenship curriculum in England at Key Stages 3 and 4, and is particularly relevant to economic citizenship. However, it will be of interest to those teaching many subjects and in particular ICT teachers.

Citizenship aims, in part, to prepare students for the political, social and moral world in which we live and this is a world where the Internet is playing an increasingly important role. As such, studying the use of the Internet is a good vehicle through which to deliver elements of the citizenship curriculum. ‘Net Benefit’ focuses on some of the main issues surrounding the use of the Internet. The two main focuses are consumer awareness and copyright law. This interactive resource allows consumer rights and responsibilities on the Internet to be explored, explains the value of copyright for protecting creativity and allows children to have a go at being creative themselves.

In particular, the CD-Rom provides:

•	some sample websites designed to allow students to explore a real site with all its functions without the need to be online;
•	a home-made entertainment website that has a variety of songs, pictures, images, words and logos where students are challenged to play a game where they download as much as they legally can and at the same time learn about copyright and other intellectual property rights. The teachers’ notes explain how this could lead to a debate about the moral issues surrounding illegal downloading of music from the Internet but the game and accompanying guidance also provide a useful tool for ICT teachers faced with explaining responsible use of the Internet; and
•	a basic website authoring package that allows students to create and publish their own websites in connection with any curriculum subject.

‘Net Benefit’ is just one of the school resources launched by the Institute for Citizenship and Melanie Johnson, the Department of Trade and Industry Minister for Competition, Consumers and Markets said:

"I am delighted that the Institute for Citizenship has launched valuable curriculum material covering a number of different strands of economic citizenship. The Department is at the forefront of driving forward Government policy in many of the areas that are explored and we fully support the aim of preparing young people to better understand these important issues. I am particularly pleased that the successful partnership between the Institute and the Patent Office has resulted in an exciting interactive resource about e-commerce, copyright and the consumer, areas that are relevant to practically all citizens in the UK."

The Patent Office is the main sponsor of ‘Net Benefit’, but some sponsorship has also been provided by British Music Rights, the European Leisure Software Publishers Association, Microsoft and Phonographic Performance Limited. Also many right holders have given permission to use their material to illustrate the entertainment website. Collaboration with the Institute for Citizenship over this resource complements the other work of the Patent Office to encourage the integration of IP issues into the school curriculum so that our future creators, designers and innovators know and understand how their creativity can be protected and everyone knows how to behave responsibly regarding other people’s rights.

Information about all school resources offered by the Institute for Citizenship, including ‘Net Benefit’, can be found on the Institute’s website at www.citizen.org.uk.

Any school in the UK can get a copy of ‘Net Benefit’ free from the Institute for Citizenship by e-mailing education@citizen.org.uk or telephoning the Institute on 020 7241 7414.