It's mine! Or is it?

It is so easy to download a song from the Internet. A few keystrokes and the song now lives on your computer hard drive or MP3 player. You can enjoy it any time you want. But, wait. Did you pay for that song? Did you ask for permission to copy it for your personal use? Did you even think about it?

If adults are unaware, or worse, uncaring of the intellectual property laws that protect copyright holders, why would teens be any better? A recent Microsoft survey revealed that half of today's teens were not familiar with the legal consequences of copyright laws and illegal downloading. As a result, some college students are facing jail time and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines due to illegal music or video downloading. Another report states that up to 90 percent of high school students admitted to copying others' work, while 60 percent of high school students confessed to cheating on tests.

The W. Frank Steely Library at Northern Kentucky University has received a Cincinnati Bar Foundation grant to provide educational copyright and plagiarism awareness films and a website for regional schools. John Schlipp, extended collection services librarian and project director, oversees Creative Thinking: Intellectual Property for Teens and Young Adults. As part of the project, an NKU summer film class taught by Associate Professor Chris Strobel created two original short films. A project committee, comprised of representatives from NKU, University of Louisville, and other regional community partners such as CET and the Campbell County Public Library will coordinate the final film/website presentation.

Area teachers and professors have provided feedback for the content of the short films and website class curriculum support materials, such as student assignments, class activities and quizzes. "Our goal is to produce content which is both engaging and informative for teens and young adults," Schlipp said. The website is scheduled for public access in the spring of 2009.