Fair use vs. “libertarian” scholar’s pocketbook

From: E Wayne Ross
Subject: Re: copyright violation
Date: October 4, 2009 2:52:22 PM PDT
To: Joel Spring
Cc: Naomi Silverman, William Pinar

Joel,

I put the first two chapters of your book and the epilogue on my course blog for the students in my doctoral seminar to read in preparation for your visit to campus and meeting with the seminar on Wednesday, Oct 7.

With such a short lead time before your visit—about 3 weeks from when I heard you were going to be on campus and available to meet until next week’s seminar—I felt the most practical approach for students to have a common reading of your work was to post something to the blog.

The course blog is very low traffic (see the attached pdf of Google Analytics for Sept 3-Oct 3, 2009). The blog is for my current students and I take all posts down at the end of each term. My belief was/is that this was a reasonable and educationally justifiable approach considering the circumstances. My actions were motivated by a desire to have students engaged with your most recent scholarship and to be prepared to make the most of the rare opportunity they have to meet with you.

As long time colleague and friendly acquaintance I am disappointed by your legalistic, tattling response. (Why not a share your concern in friendly or even inquisitive way.) I wonder too just how your response to this pedagogical situation jibes your long standing scholarly interests in maximizing individual liberty and social harmony.

So, of course, I’ll take down the link; would have done so at the slightness indication of concern on your part.

Best,

Wayne

On 2009-10-04, at 8:03 AM, Joel Spring wrote:

Dear Wayne, An article in today’s New York Times about illegal sharing of books on the internet led me to do search of my books.

Unhappily your course appeared as a violator of international copyright laws for posting, for anyone in the world to download, 41 pages from my book.

Please remove link from your course website for the copyrighted material.
This is very upsetting.

Naomi will be sending link to Informa.

https://blogs.ubc.ca/ewayne/2009/09/cust-601-globalization-of-education-a-discussion-with-joel-spring/

Joel

Joel Spring
Professor
Graduate Center and Queens College
City University of New York
Series Editor
Routledge Publisher

E. Wayne Ross
Professor
Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy
University of British Columbia
2125 Main Mall
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
Canada
604-822-2830
wayne.ross@ubc.ca
http://www.ewayneross.net

Critical Education: www.criticaleducation.org
Cultural Logic: www.eserver.org/clogic
Workplace: A Journal for Academic Labor: www.workplace-gsc.com

Screen shot 2009-10-04 at 3.05.20 PM

Analytics_blogs.ubc.ca-ewayne-_20090903-20091003_(VisitorsOverviewReport)

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