Excellent segment and very well produced - kudos to teams 159 and 812!
Then I am sure that you have somewhere - in writing - permission from PBS to redistribute their programming for an educational purpose. Short of that, whatever you may have heard second hand about their policies is irrelevant.
The MacNeil/Lehrer web site clearly states “Copyright ©2006. All Rights Reserved.” The same notice shows up at the end of each segment of their show. This is a clear indication that they label their work product as uniquely theirs, and they own it. Their web site also provides clear, straightforward instructions for obtaining a transcript of the show to use for educational purposes. Nowhere in those instructions do they indicate that anyone may freely copy and redistribute their programming without their permission. In fact, the existence of instructions for how educational users should ask permission is a direct indication that their programming may NOT be freely used just because you intend to use it for “educational purposes.” They also include this quite specific and directly on-point statement: "We’re sorry, but NewsHour streaming video and audio clips are for PBS use only. You may not incorporate the media files directly into your site."
The intent of the MacNeil/Lehrer is quite clear. This is their intellectual property, not yours. If they choose to host a copy of the show on their web site, that is their choice. If you have copied it to your web site without their permission, then you are stealing. Period. No excuses.
-dave
I understand that the unauthorized reproductions of the program violate copyright law.
However, I am not sure that thievery is a correct characterization.
According to some sources, such as the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, theft is:
“1 a : the act of stealing; specifically : the felonious taking and removing of personal property with intent to deprive the rightful owner of it b : an unlawful taking (as by embezzlement or burglary) of property”
Unlike larceny, copyright violation cannot deprive the owner of the work or its usage.
I also find it difficult characterize copyright violation as akin to embezzlement or burglary for I see the common denominator in those two terms as the removal or intent to remove from the owner some tangible possession.
Basically, here’s what I think it comes down to: Physical objects are rival goods. Data are not.
I do not condone their actions. However, I do not believe that thievery or stealing is a correct characterization of their deeds.
I caught the show completely by accident; one of my robotics buddies was over at my house and we were working on a project when my dad calls out ‘hey you guys, theres something about FIRST on TV’, so we ditched our project to feel those happy chills run down our spines at hearing the buzzer things and just seeing the general FIRST-y atmosphere made us feel all warm and fuzzy
It could be a tragic mistake if you think that you can get away with copyright infrongement without being charged with theft. Because Federal law certainly does consider them to be similar.
Specifically, the US Code, Title 17, Chapter 5, Section 506, subsection a: “Criminal Infringement. - Any person who infringes a copyright willfully …] for purposes of commercial advantage or private financial gain …] shall be punished as provided under section 2319 of title 18, United States Code.” [which has to do with criminal theft]
And your first response will be “but I didn’t download it for financial gain, so I am OK!” Not so fast. The No Electroinic Theft (NET) Act, passed into law by the U.S. Congress in 1997, was specifically targeted at actions like this.
US Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 101: “The term ‘‘financial gain’’ includes receipt, or expectation of receipt, of anything of value, including the receipt of other copyrighted works.”
The NET Act directly links copyright infringement to physical-space theft, specifically shoplifting. The boundaries of criminal copyright infringement were signficantly expanded by the NET Act, and the penalties associated with it (in extreme cases up to $3,000,000 in fines and a year in Federal prison). Note that the NET Act also defines a link between the illegal distribution of copyrighted materials and the act of trafficking in counterfeit goods and services. In other words, piracy. Again, my intent is not to be a real killjoy about this. But we need to make sure that we are not fooling ourselves by thinking that copyright infrongement is OK and is an acceptable action. Copyright infringement is a criminal act. It is illegal. Federal law considers it theft. It is not right.
But just as important, part of our purpose here is to set an example of professional behavior. Professionals understand and honor the value of intellectual property and the the work of others, and respect that work by not stealing it. Do I think that PBS is going to try to put someone in jail for a year just because you watch one issue of NewsHour in a less than honest fashion? Probably not. But you do have to be honest with yourself about what it means when you do something like this, and whether you are behaving in an honorable manner that is representative of the values and ethics you stand for.
-dave
From Phil Shapiro, in the DC Robotics message group:
http://digg.com/technology/FIRST_Robotics_on_Lehrer_News_Hour_(Public_Television)
*
You digg (or vote approval of an item submitted to digg) by clicking on the
words “digg this” underneath the number to the left of the story.
Registering for a digg account is free.
If a submitted item to digg receives more than 50 diggs within a 24 hour
period, it rises to the front page of digg. Several million people read the
front page of digg every day.
Everyone within the FIRST robotics movement needs to be registered on
digg. digg is a powerful, no-cost tool for us to get the word out about FIRST.*
The ML segment was great. The kind of TV coverage that gets it all, interviews, game overview and lot’s of student activity shown with excitement and clarity. What a wonderful piece on team 159 from start to finish. Congratulations to all who were a part of this show. It will live on in FIRST history as one of the best.
Not to belabor the discussion on copyright, Dave is right. PBS is far more generous than the other networks, but still must protect their intelectual property. Help them for the fine work they have done on this piece. And watch PBS whenever you can. (a shameless plug by an engineer for a PBS affiliate in Chicago)
According to an email from FIRST this morning, FIRST is looking into usage rights for the piece.
After that, i think my parents finally understand what FIRST is…and what this years game was. I think that also explains why my computer history has more chief delphi stuff than school work related material 
when they showed dave talking about the masterlink, it sent shivers down my spine… The awesomeness of FIRST has wierd affects like that i would assume 
It was really good - the best I have seen on TV so far. PBS has the audio here: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/index.html
However, their headline is: “Students Compete in Robot Wars” If several of us e-mail them and ask them to fix it, they might.
Yes, it is the best TV News coverage I have ever seen too.
(they were a little off on the $ amount!)
I can watch this several times… and I have have!
Nice job PBS!!!
Dave is right… and everyone who said that this is the best single news piece ever done on FIRST is right.
Therefore, it’s easy to conclude that we NEED PBS to continue to follow FIRST. How can you help make that happen? Simple … contact PBS and ask to purchase the video. We’ve all money on worse things. Just think, if 1/3 of our teams all contact PBS and want to purchase the video, that’s almost 400 requests. You can bet, that would get the attention of the network.
Let’s do it:
Videos available from:
Strictly Business
P.O. Box 473
Warsaw, Missouri 65355
(866) 678-NEWS (6397)
I called earlier today. VHS (I think that is all that is available) is $37 total (plus tax ONLY in Missouri). Checks/M.O. payable to Strictly Business. State the date and program you want (5/16/2006, Jim Lehrer news hour - they only sell the entire program). They are individually dubbed and sent out by USPS priority mail the day after your order is received.
Note: 90 days after air date the price goes up to $79.
The ) got placed outside the url, so try this one instead…
http://digg.com/technology/FIRST_Robotics_on_Lehrer_News_Hour_(Public_Television)
I emailed them and asked them to change the wording. Who knows if it will work?
Call every local PBS station and hammer them on why they don’t cover FIRST events. Please start with Chicago.
I emailed them and asked them to change the wording. Who knows if it will work?
They did!!! The headline now says: “High School Students Compete in Robotics”
More cheers for PBS!
Here is the reply to the kudos that I sent via their website contact us form.
From: [email protected]
Thank you for writing! Here’s a link to the transcript with audio and video:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/robots_05-16.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Schuetze [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 9:41 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FIRST robotics piece 05.16.06That was an excellent piece. It captured the complete story of what
the FIRST robotics program is all about and how it is changing the
lives of our youth. It is exactly what I expect of public broadcasting!How does one obtain a copy of that broadcast? I have downloaded the
pod-cast but would like a video copy to use when promoting local
efforts to support the FIRST program in our schools. I am the lead
teacher and founder of FIRST robotics team 499, Toltechs.Thanks,
APS
Andrew Schuetze
Edgewood AcademyThank you for writing! Here’s a link to the transcript with audio and video:
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june06/robots_05-16.html
-----Original Message-----
From: Andrew Schuetze
Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2006 9:41 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: FIRST robotics piece 05.16.06That was an excellent piece. It captured the complete story of what
the FIRST robotics program is all about and how it is changing the
lives of our youth. It is exactly what I expect of public broadcasting!How does one obtain a copy of that broadcast? I have downloaded the
pod-cast but would like a video copy to use when promoting local
efforts to support the FIRST program in our schools. I am the lead
teacher and founder of FIRST robotics team 499, Toltechs.Thanks,
APS
Andrew Schuetze
Edgewood Academy
Absolutely awsome coverage. I too think its the best media coverage that I have seen. Definately spread the url around to as many people who will listen.