New MOOC round and the EMMA platform tops 7000 validated users
 

So your Instagram photos aren’t really yours?
New EMMA MOOC on Copyrights
 

by Mathy Vanbuel, ATiT, Belgium

From the Statute of Anne to Mickey Mouse: an introduction to Intellectual Property Rights. What are Intellectual Property Rights and why do we often confuse them with Copyrights? The new EMMA MOOC Copyright - DIY is intended to be an entertaining and not so academic learning opportunity for anyone who creates original materials or who uses, reuses, mixes and adapts original materials created by other people. During the MOOC we will discuss the rights and duties of creators and users of original materials.

This MOOC starts with the Statute of Anne and Mickey Mouse, guiding us through the history and evolution of Intellectual Property Rights and Copyrights. Are Intellectual Property Rights and Copyrights encouraging or hindering creativity? Find out what lawyers want you to know about Intellectual Property Rights: “I fought the law and the law won.” In a rendezvous with a creative artist we will talk about how artists look at Intellectual Property Rights as an alternative source of income.



This MOOC is full of interesting facts about the re-use of “Happy Birthday” and other gems. What is the secret of the Eiffel tower at night? How much does a photocopy of Madonna cost? Can you play Enya in your music class? Pirate Bay, Plagiarism, Creative Commons... How can users make the best or worst use of the creative and original works of others? Can Intellectual Property Rights survive the Internet: development of rights in the digital era. This MOOC aims to answer many of these questions. 

The course programme consist of the following chapters:

1. From the Statute of Anne to Mickey Mouse: Background and a brief history of IPR and Copyrights, types of rights.
2. IPR and Copyright in a research and education perspective, academic views.
3. I fought the law and the law won. A legal perspective.
4. Rendezvous with the creator.
5. Pirate Bay, Plagiarism, Creative Commons and how users and activists deal with copy- and other rights.
6. Future visions, possibilities and developments in the digital era.

The Copyright - DIY MOOC has just started this week with a kick-off webinar which you can watch here. Interested to follow this MOOC? Register and enrol on the EMMA platform.

Comparing institutional MOOC strategies  

In 2014 the HOME project, coordinated by EADTU, started a research to address the possible differences between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in the U.S. and Europe in their possible goals and the strategic choices behind the development of a MOOC. Based on a the 2014 survey the report Institutional MOOC strategies in Europe was published in February 2015. The report clearly demonstrates that MOOC involvement in Europe is still increasing. Over 50% of HEIs in Europe has a MOOC or is planning to develop one. This interesting finding is consistent with the results of two other independent studies (by EUA, see Gaebel et al. 2014 and by JRC-IPTS in 2015). The 2014 survey also shows that arguments for European HEIs to get involved differ from those in the U.S.

Complete the survey and contribute to the new report!

The survey is repeated again this year. You are kindly requested to contribute and in addition ask other HEIs in your country to complete the survey as well. The survey is available in English, French and Turkish and will close at 24 November 2015. First results of this year’s survey will be presented at the Conference “WOW! Europe embraces MOOCs” in Rome, 30 November 2015. Next to the comparison between Europe and the U.S. we will produce country reports if responses from individual countries is high enough.