Copyright and Fair Use
A student guide to proper use of Intellectual Property
What is Copyright????
Copyright is the exclusive right to reproduce, publish, sell or distribute creative or intellectual property such as a book, article, musical work, or art piece. This includes performing, displaying publicly, or reproduction of work created by another person or entity. Watch this short video to get you started on the ins and outs of copyright from the folks at Commonsensemedia.org!
Why is it important to me as a student?
Not at all! Read on to see how you are allowed to use Intellectual property, but first, you need to know how to cite sources you use. Here are some links to popular citation making websites!
Fair Use- an Introduction!
How do I know if it can be used under 'Fair Use" Rules?????
1. What is purpose of the work???? - Is it for educational purposes and does it somehow add to the original work or transform it in some way? This is important for use in student work! We will look at the transform part more later on….
2. What is the Nature of the work? If it is unpublished or a very old work, it like to be allowed under Fair Use. Also, factual works are more likely to be allowed under Fair Use than artistic works.
3. How much of the copyrighted work are you using? - the larger portion you use, the less likely it would be allowed under Fair Use.
4. Does the use in any way affect the author’s potential profit from our use? For the most part, in the case of student work, the answer would be no, but you still need to consider ALL of these questions!
Transformativeness
Next Steps.....
1. In the Discussion, choose TWO of the scenarios I have posted and make a case for whether or not they violate copyright rules. Read and respond to TWO of your classmates posts. (be sure to ask yourself the 4 essential questions when trying to determine if Fair Use applies!)
2. Opinion- do you think copyright rules are too strict, or not strict enough? Should there be more clearly defined guidelines for what constitutes Fair Use? Write a post with your thoughts and discuss with at least TWO classmates!