Copyright and Fair Use: An Issue of Ethics in a Changing Learning Environment
Framing
Another issue in developing web-based instruction is framing which is "building a multi-pane web page where another person's web page is contained inside a frame with your own content" (Templeton, 2000). The law currently states, "If one is framing another site, and has advertising in the navigation frame, a license from the framed site is needed" (Hillis, 1998, p.2). When framing a web site within another web site, its URL or domain name is not displayed, therefore stirring up hot debate in the area of copyright and trademark law since the original creator of the web site has the copyright. In 1998, courts ruled in Futuredontics v. Applied Anagramics, Inc. that "by placing a frame around plaintiff's web page, the defendant [Applied Anagramics] was not unlawfully reproducing the copyright protected content. Rather, the court found that the defendant's presentation of the framed page as a whole, containing the content and the frame, could be considered an unlawful derivative work of the original content" (Kubiszyn, 2000b, p.4). In other framing cases suits have been filed resulting in removal of frames due to violation of copyright laws such as Washington Post v. TotalNews, The Journal Gazette and The News Sentinel v. Ft-Wayne.com, and Playboy v. Web21 (Kubiszyn, 2000).
Displaying another site's web page without giving them recognition is plagiarism. Whether the page contains a copyright statement or not, it is still copyright protected. With the current developments in technology and the resulting court activity, educators will need to be vigilant in their pursuit of the latest copyright and fair use decisions and will need to be able to quickly and appropriately apply the information to the classroom environment.