Copy "Right?"

Dear Melissa & Nick,

I am writing this to inform you that I have stolen your video from Youtube and embedded it into my blog. Please don't be angry, because it would do no good--I can't see you.

But since we're all students, I figure we might as well be on the same team. Right? Well, it looks like you have been learning a lot about different artists and techniques that have developed through the ages. I think that is fantastic.

In my own class, we have been learning about copyrights and fair use. I propose a trade: I give you some advice on copyright requirements, and you can tell me why artists are always painting naked dudes. Fair deal?

Well, to begin with, I loved the music in your video--well, I loved the first song. I wasn't crazy about the second one, but it's your creative work, not mine. At any rate, I'm not sure if you were given permission to use those songs. If you were, that's fantastic! If not, I feel it my duty as an American citizen to inform you that we're only allowed to use 10% (or up to 30 seconds) of a song for which we don't have permission. That would have saved my ears on that second song. . . .

As for the pictures, they were incredible! Those works of art look amazing. Okay, a few of them were a little pixelated. In that case, copyright shouldn't matter, right? I mean, who would wanna bother copyrighting a trashy, pixelated picture? And I understand why you would leave the watermarks on some of the others--I mean, it's a lot of work to Photoshop those out! I sometimes have difficulties lifting a can of Coke to my lips. Phew!

I had a problem with knowing where they came from, though. In fact, that was a problem I had with all of the media you used. There was a brief shout out to Augustana in the credits, but that wasn't enough for me. Had you provided citations for the pictures, I would have been able to tell if they came from a copyrighted collection, or whether you were using more than 15 images (or again, 10%) of an artist's work.

But don't beat yourself up about it. I mean, I just barely learned a lot of this stuff, myself. All of that 10% stuff? Brand spanking new knowledge! I'm pretty sure I'll make some mistakes in the future, too. I'm just trying to help some friends out. I'd say that I look forward to viewing your next work, but to be honest, I don't know who the devil you are.

Sincerely,
Jordan