By what right?

Since 2009, the Seine-Saint-Denis County Council has been backing “la Culture et l’Art au Collège (CAC)”. This project is based to a large extent on the presence in class for several weeks (40h) of an artist or scientist whose mission is to engage the students in a process of research and creation. 

Tutors: Mme Alexandra Rominger, magistrate, M. Marwan Ben Tamansourt, Mme Laurence Brunissen, Mme Soraya Mahfoufi, M. Charles Rominger/ lawyers

Project manager: Mathieu Marion

Objectives: 
How can intellectual property rights be applied to Internet or to digital recordings in general? What about downloading? How can rules be made for a world at the mercy of continual technological change? This project addresses these questions, starting from the controversy over these issues and the conflicts in values and ideas that they cause.

Workshop:
The tutor introduced the pupils to the law through the thorny question of royalties on the Internet. They tackled the conflict through role play, taking the roles of judge, prosecutor, accused and defendant in the “downloading trial”.

In the first stage the pupils were asked to say what law meant to them. The tutor led the discussion with various questions: Who makes the rules? What is a law? Are rules necessary?

The group tried to understand what is at stake in intellectual property rights in relation to the new media. Using legal tools (studying legal texts, analysing practical cases, looking at changes in legislation) the group studied the range of viewpoints, the dynamic of the debates and the arguments put forward by the people who advocate freedom and those who defend a stricter application of penalties. They used this information to draw up an interview protocol for an artist faced with these issues. Finally they pooled their material.
Each class then put the practice of downloading on trial.

Outcome:
The films made during the mock trials were shown in the schools. After the showing, there was a discussion with the audience of parents, teachers and pupils.

Outings (Selections)
- BOBIGNY LAW COURT, INTRODUCTION TO THE COURT, ATTENDANCE AT A HEARING.
- PARIS LAW COURT. INTRODUCTORY TOUR OF THE COURT, ATTENDANCE AT A HEARING.
- VISIT TO CANAL93, DISCUSSION WITH THE MUSICIANS FROM ADDICTIVE TV ON THE THEME.

Participating schools:
- Class (4th6 SEGPA), Collège Georges Politzer, Bagnolet.
- Class (4th1 SEGPA), Collège Jean Zay, Bondy.
- Class (3rd3 SEGPA), Collège Louise Michel, Clichy-sous-Bois.
- Class (3rd1 SEGPA), Collège Lenain de Tillemont, Montreuil.
- Class (4thB), Collège Michelet, Saint-Ouen.