Singapore, 29 October 2008 – What constitutes infringement of copyright? Can we copy materials from the internet or books when doing a research on a particular topic? These are some commonly asked questions among students who are unsure if they have unwittingly infringed on any copyright issues in the course of doing projects or assignments.
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) has launched an educational comic book, “Know Your Copyright!” that features a selection of 30 outstanding entries by students who participated in this year’s IP Champion Camp held on 9th to 11th June 2008.
The 3-day camp was organised by iperckidz, an outreach initiative for schools by IPOS with the support of the Ministry of Education (MOE), Temasek Polytechnic and VividThree Productions for all Secondary 3 students. More than 100 students participated in the camp, which was organised to give students more insights about Copyright and comic illustration techniques.
“With internet as one of the main sources for information search, there is an increasing need for students to know about the perils of piracy and general copyright issues. This comic book, which features the artwork of students serves a meaningful purpose and fulfils the objective of IP for students by students” said Ms. Liew Woon Yin, Director-General of IPOS.
More than 30,000 free copies will be distributed to Primary 4, 5 and 6 as well as Secondary 1 and 2 students for use during their Civics & Moral Education (CME) or cyberwellness lessons. The book is also available for sale at S$3 each. Interested parties can download and complete the purchase forms from the iperckidz website at www.iperckidz.gov.sg. As part of the post IP Champion Camp publicity efforts as well as to provide schools with a sneak preview of the comic book, school tours are conducted to secondary schools to showcase the winning entries between September and November. Mini exhibition booths with interesting interactive quizzes and games will also be set up at selected schools for students to participate in upon purchase of the book.
(Please refer to the annex for details on the book.)
“Know Your Copyright!”
The 48-pp, full colour comic book consists of 30 comic strip entries that were short listed from the participants who took part in the Comic Strip Competition. It aims to provide basic information on issues relating to Copyright protections for those who are new to the topic on Copyright. The publication, which features the creative work of students, will give readers a more fun and interesting perspective in the quest to find out more about general copyright protections.
Content:
Perils of Piracy
- Online Piracy
- Pirated Software
General Copyright
> Usage of Copyrighted Materials
> Rights of a Copyright Owner
Price
3,500 copies are up for sale at S$3 each with a chance to participate in a Lucky Draw to win prizes like a NOKIA mobile phone, Game Packs, Movie Passes and Music CDs. Purchase order forms are available via IPOS’ iperckidz website at www.iperckidz.gov.sg
For media enquiries, please contact:
Jasline Yeow (Ms)
Public Outreach Department
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
DID: 6330 2705
Fax: 6339 0252
Email: jasline_yeow@ipos.gov.sg
Tan Mei Jue (Ms)
Public Relations Department
Intellectual Property Office of Singapore
DID: +65 6331 6581
Fax: +65 6331 6562
Email: tan_mei_jue@ipos.gov.sg
Website: www.ipos.gov.sg
The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS), a statutory board under the Ministry of Law since April 2001, is the lead government agency that advises on and administers intellectual property (IP) laws, promotes IP awareness and provides the infrastructure to facilitate the development of IP in Singapore. With IP fast becoming a critical resource in today’s new economy, IPOS’s vision is to foster a creative Singapore where ideas and intellectual efforts are valued, developed and exploited. More information on IPOS can be found on www.ipos.gov.sg.
iperckidz is an Intellectual Property (IP) education and outreach initiative for students and teachers. iperckidz maintains an online resource at www.iperckidz.gov.sg which provides educational resources in various forms like e-learning modules, comics, articles and information on the various programmes for schools like Assembly Talks and IP Champion Camps that are designed to make learning IP fun and easy. Join our icon, Detective IP, on his journey to "Be Curious, Investigate IP". More information on iperckidz can be found on www.iperckidz.gov.sg.
The IP Champion Camp is an annual 3-day boot camp for secondary students to learn about Copyright and comic illustration techniques. One of the highlights of the camp is a Creative Comic Strip Competition for students to apply what they have learnt and create their own 3 – 6 frame comic strip to educate fellow students about Copyright. The winner of IP Champion Camp 2008 is Tan Wiphaporn from Ahmad Ibrahim Secondary School. She was awarded a 2-week internship programme with local animation company, VividThree Productions to learn and produce a 30-second animation clip based on her winning comic strip, which will be used as IPOS’ educational resource in 2009.