The first copyright statute was adopted by the English Parliament for the "encouragement of learning." How well is copyright doing that job today? Two stories from today's news provide different answers.
If learning is best encouraged by relying on for-profit academic publishing entities that compile educational materials, then it is proper for educators who create educational materials to transfer copyright to these publishers. These publishers can then use the author's copyright as a defense against incursions by professors who are sharing published materials with their students without requiring their students to pay. See http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/technology/16school.html?ex=1366084800&en=d5bc680387807b8c&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
If, on the other hand, in the age of the Internet learning is better encouraged by authors using their copyrights to create open educational resources designed for global, royalty-free sharing, then it is better for educators to hold on to their copyrights and license their materials accordingly. See http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2008/04/16/textbooks.
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