Copyright law impede progress in Educational Technology

A recent report from the Berkman Center for Internet and Society explored the impact that copyright law provisions have on the use of digitial technology in education.

"Drawing on research, interviews, two participatory workshops with experts in the field, and the lessons drawn from four detailed case studies, the white paper identifies four obstacles as particularly serious ones:
* Unclear or inadequate copyright law relating to crucial provisions such as fair use and educational use;
* Extensive adoption of digital rights management technology to lock up content;
* Practical difficulties obtaining rights to use content when licenses are necessary;
* Undue caution by gatekeepers such as publishers or educational administrators.

The report is available online, and it titled The Digital Learning Challenge: Obstacles to Educational Uses of Copyrighted Material in the Digital Age