MY Bytes – Helping Teens Understand IP Laws

Microsoft has conducted some research in the US on how familiar teenagers are with intellectual property laws. The Genuine Software Initiative commissioned the study asking 7th to 10th graders if they knew the rules around downloading music, pictures, movies and software from the internet.

They found that if the teenagers knew the laws, they’d be less likely to flout them. Just 11% said they were “clearly” familiar with what was right and what was wrong when it came to IP.

“Teens who were familiar with downloading rules credited their parents, TV or stories in magazines and newspapers, and Web sites — more so than their schools — as resources for information about illegal downloading.”

So Microsoft has launched an educational website – My Bytes – it compliments an educational pilot aimed at schools they’ve kicked off in conjunction with Topics Education.

“The curriculum is focused on preparing students for the digital age, helping them understand in a meaningful way how intellectual property rights affect their lives and sparking discussion to clarify the “gray areas” in protected and shared content.”

The site lets kids develop their own intellectual property and create their own ringtone by mixing it online.

Wholesale education has to be a good thing! Every time I visit my nephews, the oldest one is 11, their PC is clogged up with all sorts of stuff they’ve swiped online, either not knowing how or why they’ve done it in the first place.