In 1992, the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) released the rousing, rap-filled and rather catchy video entitled Don’t Copy That Floppy.
Seventeen years later, SIIA will release Version 2.0 later this summer. Appropriately titled, “Don’t Copy That Too” (DCT2), the new video emulates its predecessor with a shared goal of enlightening students about copyright issues.
At the SIIA CODiE Awards gala held during the organization’s Spring conference in San Francisco, the video trailer for DCT2 was premiered to an audience of software developers. Attending SIIA members watched the trailer beaming from two giant monitors, which had previously looped a 1950’s superhero cartoon.
Chuckles filled the room as the beginning of the trailer featured a science-fiction-like opening complete with swooshing verbiage and space odyssey music, and then a flash-back to the 1992 version. After an interlude with an updated rap song performed by the original version’s M.E. Hart as “MC Double Def DP,” the trailer ends with a cameo of two Star Trek characters and the slogan, “It’s not just a copy, it’s a crime.”
Though the video may be designed to reach younger audiences through head-bopping lyrics and sensational footage, the message is important. The video will be released for use in school districts nationwide in two forms – the music video and an extended version with interviews of industry professionals, developers, educators, and a special appearance by convicted Jeremiah Mondello. Sentenced to 48 months in prison for pirating software on eBay, Mondello (only 24 years old) tells young viewers that breaking copyright law is just not worth it.
Check out the trailer and look for the full version to be released online in late summer. Though students are not using floppy disks any longer, with the growing number of software programs, online subscriptions and downloadable media, comes even greater responsibility. Students need to learn what can be copied and shared, and what can not.
Do you remember the original? Did you use it in your classroom?