The Internet is not outside
the law, all normal state, federal, and international laws still apply
to it.
Access to the internet
is not a right, it is a privilege provided by the school and under particular
circumstances of use and behavior.
The AUP functions as
a contract specifying the privileges allowed and the responsibilities of
the users.
Schools have the right
to deny access through, and to censor material on, thier machines and systems.
Schools do not have the
right to censor materials or discipline students for materials nopt on
their systems.
Schools and individuals
do have the right to sue for defamation over materials published on the
web.
Editorial control of
content of the web is (probably) exercised when a school:
a) has an announced
policy of content screening
b) requires agreement
to an AUP before granting access
c) requires teachers
to monitor for, and take action on discovery of, obscene, offensive,
or inappropriate websites
d) uses software
to screen net access for obscene, offensive, or inappropriate websites.
Liability for editorial
control is controled only by state liability law for public schools.
Copyright applies to
all web materials not specifically identified as public domain, whether
a formal copyright application has been filed or not.
Publication of material
onto the web implies permission for cache copies in client machines, but
not for any additional copies.
Educational use of copyrighted
material (on the web and off) is controlled by "fair use" polices and involves
consideration of:
a) the type of use
b) the extent of
the material being copied
c) the impact ofthe
copying on marketability of the material
Individuals own the rights
to materials created by themselves in their own time and at their own expense.
Materials made for a
second individual/organization at their expense are owned by the funding
agency unless contractual obligations state otherwise, this includes materials
made for educational institutions in the line of a regular salaried job.
Written, signed permission
must be abtained from the copyright owner or their asignees for use of
any copyrighted material, email replies, faxes etc. may not hold up in
court.
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