"27. Copyright. Copyright
is a special law that protects one’s own artistic creations and
writings; others cannot make copies without permission. We all have the
right to our own way of life and to enjoy the good things that art,
science and learning bring."
Now read the short story about this important human right.
loves to write poems. She is in the sixth grade. She writes at least
six poems a day. So, she is very excited when her teacher gives the
class a poetry assignment.
The assignment is to write a poem
about birds. Viola has many poems about birds already, but she writes a
new one anyway. She works very hard on it and is proud to give it the
Later that day, Viola's teacher asks to talk to her during recess. Viola cannot imagine what the teacher wants!
The teacher shows Viola a poem. It is one of her old poems! She wonders how the teacher got this poem.
The teacher says, "Shannon says this is her poem, but this sounds a lot like your poems. Does this look familiar to you?"
Viola tells the teacher yes, this is her poem, not Shannon's! Later, the class returns from recess. The teacher says, "Class, we need to talk about copyright."
The students look confused. This word is new to them.
teacher explains, "Copyright is a law that protects our ideas. When we
create something, it is protected by copyright. This means that no one
is allowed to steal it. We have the right to keep our own ideas, and to
get credit for them. No one else can use them and present them like
Viola sees Shannon looking at the floor.
The teacher continues. "It is wrong to steal someone else's poem."
Later that day, Shannon apologizes to Viola, and Viola offers to help Shannon create her own bird poem.