IP: Internet Term-Paper Mills

[Dave Farber <farber () cis upenn edu>]

From: Marc Rotenberg <rotenberg () epic org>=20


Funny how a real world episode can drive a point
home in a way that speculative arguments never can.
Here is a post from David Post today off of the
Cyberprof list. David is disseminating his own
op-ed, which the Washington Post (too many
"Posts") claim a copyright in.


Guess who gets to go to jail under the No
Electronic Theft Act?


Marc.




> From: David Post <Postd () erols com>
> To: "CyberProf" <CyberProf () mail law utexas edu>
> Subject: Re: Internet Term-Paper Mills
> Date: Mon, 24 Nov 1997 12:07:16 -0500


> [This appeared in today's Washington Post, Op-ed page, under the title
> (*not* chosen by me) 'When Cheating is Cause for Celebration.'  In their
> online edition,
> URL is
> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1997-11/24/032l-112497-idx.html
>
> NB: Though the bottom of the article, as it appears on line, reads
> =A9 Copyright 1997 The Washington Post Company, I believe that is what we=
 law
> profs call 'bullshit.' Since I'm the author, and did not assign my
> copyright to the Post, and this is not a work for hire, I cannot imagine
> how they believe they have copyright to this.  In fact, given the Post's
> position as plaintiff in the TotalNews lawsuit, I'm thinking of suing them
> for copyright infringement -- anyone want to estimate my chances of
> success?  As the owner of copyright, I hereby authorize redistribution to
> your heart's content.
> DP]
> Cross-posted to Cyberia-L
> ********************
>                         When Cheating Is Cause for Celebration
>                         By David G. Post
>
>                Monday, November 24, 1997
>                 Op-Ed Page (A25)
>                 The Washington Post
>
>       Although Boston University appears to be fighting the good fight and
> upholding important standards of educational integrity in its lawsuit
> against several alleged "term paper mills" operating on the Internet
> ["University Tries to Pull Plug on Internet Term-Paper Mills," front page,
> Nov. 5], we would be better off if -- and when -- the university loses its
> lawsuit.
>
>       I'm not suggesting that students should be encouraged to purchase
> rather
> than write term papers. Such a practice undermines important educational
> values. But whether Boston University's lawsuit succeeds is going to have
> little bearing on whether term papers are widely available on the Net
> within the next few years. Does Massachusetts really think that its law can
> reach around the globe to anywhere Internet information suppliers might be
> located? I'd wager that in five years, regardless of the outcome in the
> Massachusetts case, you'll be able to give me any topic at 9 in the morning
> and by afternoon, I'll have whatever length paper you demand all ready to=
 go.
>       We should all -- but educators especially -- welcome this
> development. A
> world in which you can type "Jane Eyre and the theme of marriage in
> 19th-century English fiction, 25 pages maximum," into your computer and
> have a stack of documents -- some written, perhaps, by reowned literature
> professors halfway around the globe, some by college students from across
> town -- delivered to your desktop fulfills a dream humankind has had since


> the library of Alexandria. Quite apart from whether we can stop this world
> > from coming into being, why should we want to?
>
>       The Internet is turning into a global "term-paper mill" for all of
> us to
> use. Some, of course, will abuse this power. But the suppliers of
> information, and those who make it easy to find and easy to tailor to
> individual needs, should be encouraged in their efforts to bring this new
> world into being.
>
>       As a lawyer and law professor I acknowledge that this lawsuit
> represents
> another disturbing example of how institutions that have flourished under a
> particular set of rules and constraints often see the law as little more
> than a means to freeze the status quo in place. Those nostalgic for the
> good old days when they were young and had to turn in real term papers will
> support these efforts. But Boston University and its students would be
> better served by seeking ways to adapt to the new information environment,
> rather than futilely attempting to preserve the old regime and its methods.
>
>       The problem is serious: How do you design a productive educational
> experience in a world in which end-of-semester term papers no longer serve
> as a viable means of measuring students' abilities or imparting useful
> knowledge? We can hope the problem goes away, we can try to fight it with
> lawyers, or we can roll up our sleeves and get to work. Perhaps if Boston
> University would divert some of its money and brainpower away from this
> lawsuit and toward trying to come up with creative solutions to this
> problem, we might all be further along in finding ways for our students to
> take advantage of this extraordinary library being built under our noses.
>
> The writer is an associate professor of law at Temple University and
> co-director of the Cyberspace Law Institute.








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