FC: U.K. plans mandatory IP indoctrination for children, from Cluebot

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

http://www.cluebot.com/article.pl?sid=01/06/05/2338246
                                      
   U.K. Plans Mandatory IP Indoctrination for Children
   posted by vergil on Wednesday June 06, @12:10PM
   from the get-em-while-they're-young dept.

   Forget digital watermarks and cease-and-desist letters. The
   future of intellectual property enforcement lies not in
   technological access controls or litigation, but mandatory education.
   Anthony Murphy, the UK Patent Office's Director of Copyright since
   1999, has hit upon a novel solution to stamp out public disregard for
   copyright law by nipping future file-swappers in the bud.

   In a move that's an eerie cross between Brave New World and the Lehman
   Working Group's "Just Say Yes" (to licensing) proposal, the UK's
   Patent Office and Department of Education have teamed up to teach
   youngsters the virtues of copyright. Starting in fall 2002, reverance
   to intellectual property -- and, presumably, disdain for Napster and
   its successors -- will become part the "Citizenship" aspect of
   England's National Curriculum for secondary school students.
   
   According to a April 26, 2001 UK Patent Office press release:
   
   "In Autumn 2002, a new subject, Citizenship, is being introduced into
   the National Curriculum in UK secondary schools. Its aim is to teach
   children how to be good, moral, citizens and Anthony Murphy believes
   the subject would be an ideal vehicle for teaching children about
   intellectual property.
   
   'By bringing awareness of the importance of copyright into our
   schools, tomorrow's consumers can take their place in a community
   which understands, values and respects intellectual property.'"




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