UK IPO launches new copyright education resources for schools

On Monday, the UK IPO launched it's latest materials aimed at helping teachers to bring copyright education into schools.

This Kat is particularly proud of this project, as she was part of the founding team whilst at the Centre for Intellectual Property Policy and Management (CIPPM) during her PhD years and beyond. The project started with a Bournemouth University Fusion Fund in 2012 led by Kris Erikson, Dinusha Mendis and Martin Kretshmer. Copyrightuser was publicly launched at the Law Society of England and Wales in July 2013. Further funding was awarded from AHRC by CREATe in 2013 and 2014, led by Dinusha Mendis and Julian McDougall.

Some of the CopyrightUser team at the AHRC Showcase

The online educational resource began by providing educational tools for creators and the general public, with Bartolomeo Melitti and myself producing videos of creators discussing copyright and focusing on commonly asked questions. One of my favourite parts, was looking at data of questions asked about copyright by the general public in order to set out the most frequently asked questions. I also used this data to assertain the most common myths from the incorrect answers provided by users, which were developed into the Myth/Reality cards. In 2014, Copyright User featured at the AHRC-funded Creative Economy Showcase, where we even brought along a Queen Anne to help us with the stand!

Queen Anne

The next phase of the project focused on creating educational materials for schools with the Contemporary Media Regulation: A Case Study in Copyright Law; an educational web resource which specifically addressed A Level Media Studies, authored by this Kat and Professor Dinusha Mendis.

More recently, the copyrightuser team produced the ‘The Game is On!’ series. Following the success of the first episode which won an AHRC Research in Film Award on 12 November 2015, five more episodes where produced. The videos are written and directed by Ronan Deazley and Bartolomeo Meletti, animation by Marco Bagni, illustration by Ilaria Urbinati, character Design by Davide Bonazzi and music from Sarc:o. The videos are accompanied by case files written by this Kat, Dinusha Mendis, Megan Rae Blakely, Andrea Wallace, Daithí Mac Síthigh, Claudy Op Den Kamp and Guest Kat Mathilde Pavis.

The Game is On! is a series of short animated films that put copyright and creativity under the magnifying glass of Sherlock Holmes

It provides research-led and open access resource for teachers and students, enabling learning of key principles and ideas underpinning copyright law, creativity, and the limits of lawful appropriation and reuse. Each episode is accompanied by Case Files, 33 in total, offering educational materials that suggest points of discussion about copyright and explore a wide range of issues relating to core aspects of copyright law.

The UK IPO has published, on its Cracking Ideas website 6 of the animated films, together with annotations, case files and teaching notes, as well as guides to copyright law, and curriculum links. The teaching notes includes learning aims, key questions, suggested activities such as developing and pitching ideas for a TV or film production, negotiating a commercial contract, or organising a mock trial, to support teachers in utilising the tools in the classroom.

The resources are designed for pupils aged 11-18, enabling the development of core thinking skills and teaching activities across a range of subjects, including English Language and Literacy, Media, Art and Law. They are free to access, users just need to sign up. See the trailer here.