Featured Image by PDPics from Pixabay

Copyright. Not the most thrilling subject, in my opinion. I actually struggled to find the silver lining in my week 3 lecture on the topic. Although as a writer, I recognise the importance of understanding copyright law, the many intricacies and exceptions to the rule tend to make my head spin.

How do we determine what constitutes fair use? When do works enter the public domain? What can and cannot be a trade mark? How do I know which jurisdiction’s laws apply? 

Confused? Well let me introduce you to Copyright Dough! This fantastic game, created by Hannah Pyman and Katrine Sundsbø, is a teaching tool that can be used to introduce staff and students alike to the basics of copyright law.

Using only playdough and playing cards, participants are given a role card, a licence card and a task card, and must carry out the instructions on the cards. For example, your role might be a teacher, your licence could be an Attribution licence and your task could be to create a copy of another player’s model for use in your lecture, without asking permission but with credit given to the original creator in your lecture slides.

The aim of the game is to facilitate discussion around different types of licences, how and when they may apply, and to further participant’s understanding of the complexities of copyright law.

All of the resources, bar the playdough, are free to download on Figshare, with further instructions and tips also available to read. Hannah Pyman actually wrote a very insightful guest blog on UK Copyright Literacy site, detailing her experience creating and running the game.

So what do you think? Would you be interested in running a game of Copyright Dough yourself? Let me know in the comments down below.