Week 8 Reflection

Hong Kong's amended copyright law: a guide for teachers and students

The leaflet highlights some of the changes of Copyright Ordinance that affect teachers and students. I think the most important message is the “fair dealing” exemption which allows us, teachers and students to use or deal with reasonable portions of copyright works in a pair manner for our teaching and learning. Examples are also given which make me have a better understanding of the Ordinance.

When I was a secondary student, my teachers used to photocopy the past papers of the HKCEE and the HKAL for us but now we can’t do that and students have to buy their own copies. I also remember that my some of my classmates would photocopy the whole textbook because it was much cheaper than buying one. However, students cannot do that now because it infringes copyright. In recent years, people have shown more concerns for copyright. My school brought up this issue in one of the staff meetings. Also, the panel chair keeps reminding us that we should not infringe copyright when preparing exercises or setting tests. We must be very cautious when using copyright materials.