intellectual property guidelines for kids or no, you can't call your blog "The Official Facebook guide to cats"

[JJ]

I have a 12 yo and was explaining to him this morning that he can't call his blog "The Official Facebook guide to cats" because it doesn't have anything to do with Facebook the company. There are various reasons he wanted to name it this, all seemingly sensible to a 12 yo.

I also tried to explain that he shouldn't copy pictures from websites and post them on said blog because they're other people's property and sometimes companies get mad at this.

Has anyone come across a good intro for teens or nearly teens to intellectual property on the internet?

No but I could ask my DH to write one.

Is he ip lawyer or somesuch? It would be great to have a general guide. There was a webchat with someone from Childnet a week or two ago which was interesting and helpful(ish) but their website is very confusing. It's hard to find stuff - generally not very good at all.

Something simple and clear would be nice! Actually, something like this: Ok, not internet, it's about semicolons but you get the idea, I hope.

It could go with a more wordy and in depth explanation of what is ok to use (not much) and what isn't. Maybe something about creative commons licenses, too?

I am wittering, sorry.

One question: do the laws vary widely between countries? I'm in the UK (not now, am on hols, but generally) and know libel laws between countries are different. Is it the same with ip laws?

DH is a patent attorney dealing with all forms of intellectual property. I will ask him your questions. He said he will draft something up and see if it is the kind of thing you want.

You could try these: cracking ideas activity packs

This might be good too, it's aimed at Key stage 4 pupils: think kit

They are both from the Intellectual Property Office. There is masses of info on their website but it can be difficult to get around it all, these are probably the best bits for kids.

have a look at the vodafone parents guide which is always advertised on mumsnet. They have a section on copyright here
parents.vodafone.com/copyright

That's great - thanks.

Regarding music, I'm telling him that unless he's bought it, it shouldn't be on his computer and he should never upload music - including using it in a video he makes - unless he's composed it (not likely, he doesn't write music). I know it's not quite that simple, but that should keep him out of trouble completely, I think. Please do say something if you know otherwise!

creditcrunched, that's an excellent resource. I hadn't seen it before... ok, I just looked and it's the top banner ad. Thanks for pointing it out though - I really wouldn't have noticed it otherwise.

cwtchy, I love those Cracking Ideas sheets. The definitions on the Think kit are excellent and very clear, too.

PardonMyClench - thanks! It'd be interesting to read what he thinks. A guy I know is getting sued for using photos from Masterfile without a proper license. He doesn't know much about computers and made the mistake of using a website designer who didn't do it correctly and then disappeared. So I worry about that and also would rather not get a cease and desist letter from Facebook because of a cat blog.

JJ there are copyright free images and music available on the net that he could use, especially if he is not using them for commercial purposes.
Search for "copyright free images" and you should find plenty of sites etc.

Also, another thing to bear in mind is to make sure he does have some funds to buy legal downloads. Tracks can cost as little as 50p and would avoid the incentive for him to download illegally.

JJ there are copyright free images and music available on the net that he could use, especially if he is not using them for commercial purposes.
Search for "copyright free images" and you should find plenty of sites etc.

Also, another thing to bear in mind is to make sure he does have some funds to buy legal downloads. Tracks can cost as little as 50p and would avoid the incentive for him to download illegally.

That's a good idea to search copyright free images! He has an iTunes account and regularly spends all his money on music and iPod apps - luckily we haven't had any issues with the music so far. Except that he buys things that drive me nuts. I hate Abba - isn't he too young for them?