Kewl Timez, Spring 2005


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	>> The Download on Downloading By Kelsey, 14, Minnesota Do you download copyrighted movies, music videos, or music sound tracks without legal permission? If you do, you are taking part in illegal downloading, but you are not the only teen that's doing this. There are millions across the nation doing the very same thing. On January 25, 2005 in Washington D.C., music industry professionals, state Attorneys General and educators, as well as U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement, filed briefs with the Supreme Court asking to have the record labels and movie studios vs. Grokster and Morpheus file-sharing case overturned. The lower courts decided that the users of the file-sharing sites were to blame, and not the owners of the sites. This case affects everyone involved, especially the students. Federal laws say that it is illegal to upload and download copyrighted music without permission. Copyright laws in the United States provide protection to artists preventing such illegal activities. Criminal penalties for first-time offenders can be as high as five years in prison and $250,000 in fines. Some legal alternatives to illegal downloading are to buy the CD instead of downloading it or subscribe to a downloading service and pay a monthly fee. Many of these fees are very small compared to the potential fines. If you are downloading illegally, you are committing a crime. By doing so you may be punished as a criminal if you are caught. It's that simple. Remember, copyright laws protect music and visual art materials. It is our responsibility to honor these laws and respect the artists and the music.	>> Illegal Downloading, One Student's Opinion By Kelly, 17, Colorado I don't download illegally. I figure I can listen to Launch for free or borrow CDs from my friends. I can understand how kids with limited finances don't have money to spend, or don't want to spend their money on music, but I can also understand how companies would want to receive money for what they made. Part of the problem may be that students don't know or understand the law. What is the law on copyrighted material? US Copyright law (Title 17, U.S.C. section 101 et seq., Title 18, U.S.C. section 2319) protects copyright owners from the unauthorized reproduction, adaption, and distribution of sound and video recordings, as well as certain digital performances to the public. In other words, you cannot download copyrighted music or movies without permission from the owner. Typical of students, if a law isn't in their favor they tend to simply ignore it. They don't realize the consequences of their actions. Unfortunately, technology comes quicker than we are prepared for; too quickly to decide what's right and wrong or how to deal with it. Students should realize that downloading copyrighted music off the Internet is illegal. Right now there aren't many ways of punishing people for "stealing" the music other than lawsuits. Suing may seem overboard but how else is the music industry supposed to earn money for things they've created? Some students say that music companies get enough money out of CDs that they sell in the stores, but the day is almost here where more people get their music online than from a physical store. I really don't know what alternatives would work but something needs to be figured out. Maybe the laws need to change, or there needs to be a better solution that fits our high-tech world. I think the best alternatives that are out there right now are the sites that you pay a monthly fee to download as much music you want. Both parties are happy that way.

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Links

Be a Mentor
E-mail us at mentors@isafe.org if you want to become an i-SAFE Student Mentor! It is your chance to raise awareness about online dangers for your classmates.

Assembly
Take your school to Cyberspace. The i-SAFE Assembly Experience shows you and your classmates how to drive safe on the Information Superhighway. Contact us at mentors@isafe.org.

This!

Q: You are on a spaceship with two computers. You have two doors, one leads to a room with the spacesuits, the other opens directly to outer space (and certain death). Both computers know which door is safe and which is not. One problem is that one computer can only tell the truth and the other can only lie. The other problem is there is no way to know which computer is which. What is the one question that you can ask either computer that will guarantee directions to the door leading to the room with space suits?
(The answer can be found here.)

Poll

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>>
Congratulations to the Greenwood High School Student Mentors from Kentucky! The Kentucky students are the recipients of the i-SAFE Most Valuable Mentors Award for the month of January 2005. They are the latest students to successfully i-SAFE Mentors

implement i-SAFE's i-Adopt-A-School Program. The i-Adopt-A-School Program empowers students to educate their peers about Internet safety while at the same time developing important life skills. The students are members of the Student Technology Leadership Program (STLP) at their school, where they taught i-SAFE cyber safety lessons to the Freshman Academy. The Greenwood High School students entered their i-SAFE project into the STLP regional competition and took first place.
As demonstrated by the Kentucky students, the i-Adopt-A-School Program can be a great community project for student organizations or for service-learning students to earn credits toward high school graduation. The rewards are endless. If you (as a student or a teacher) are interested in teaching younger students, participate in the i-SAFE Student i-Adopt-A-School Program. Contact outreach@isafe.org for the 411. We will help you set up your program and ship you the necessary materials. You can also click here for more information.

>> Celebrity Corner: George Stults, Actor, 7th Heaven
George plays the popular "Kevin Kinkirk" on the WB's long-running hit series, 7th Heaven. The Kewl Timez tracked George down between takes to talk about a subject important to him as an artist and an actor. Listen to George talk about Internet safety here at www.isafe.org.

KT:  What do you like best about the Internet?

George:  I like being able to e-mail my friends and family. It is a really easy way to stay close to everyone. It's also great for corresponding with my agent, publicist, lawyer, and the rest of my business team. Another thing I love about the Internet is looking up sports scores and information about my favorite players and teams.

KT:  What advice do you give to kids and teens that want to download music and movies illegally?

George:  It's so inexpensive to download legally...why take the chance of doing it illegally? Illegal downloading is not fair to the artists, musicians and actors who put a lot of time and effort to make the songs/movies for us to enjoy.

KT:  How does illegal downloading affect you?

George:  If people continue to download illegally, there will probably come a day when we will not to be able to download anything. This would affect us all. It could also affect me personally if any of my future projects are downloaded illegally.

KT:  Why is it important for kids and teens to spread the word about downloading to their peers?

George:  Kids should spread the word about illegal downloading so they don't go to jail or get fined. It is also morally wrong because it is not fair to artists and kids should get in the habit of promoting good morals and family values.

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