TWC 494/598
Intellectual Property and Copyright
Multimedia Writing and Technical Communication
Fall 2005
Graduate Assignment
The use of information technologies to share information, documents, and files makes the legal issues surrounding intellectual property and copyright difficult to interpret and perhaps even more difficult to enforce. Viewpoints about intellectual property are rooted in social and cultural perceptions about the ownership of information and the tangible outcome of creative work.
For this assignment, select one of the following topics to explore and analyze in-depth:
- international or global aspects of intellectual property/copyright
- economic perspective: information as a commodity
- access controls (DeCSS, broadcast flag, digital watermarks, etc)
- educational use of information
- fair use
- other?
Your final report should be submitted in the form of a 10-15 page white paper. In this case, I am using the term to mean "authoritative report on a major issue" (Wikipedia). However, your report should go beyond a mere description of the issue. It should include your own analysis of the issue, its importance, its impact.
Submit your topic to me for approval by September 19th.
Your final report will be due on October 30th. Grading will be based on:
- comprehensiveness in describing the issue (20 pts)
- analysis (20 pts)
- formatting/grammar/tone (10 pts)
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Page last modified: 16 August 2005