Are You A Thief?
A guide to copyright, fair use and Creative Commons
Copyright matters more that you think.
What Copyright covers:
Copyright covers specific, concrete “intellectual property” ie. photos, videos, music, lesson plans etc.
Copyright does not cover things such as ideas, facts, or “non-tangible” things
Copyright is not to be confused with a patent or a trademarkFair Use: Copyright limitations
When using copyrighted material keep in mind the following four points
1. The purpose and character of the use, are you using the material for commercial or educational purposes? If educational than it qualifies for fair use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole work.
4. The effect upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
Creative Commons
In general it allows you to use material as long as attribution is given and others are informed of where you found the work. Additionally you must not profit from using the content and must use the same license on anything you create with the content or work. Some works may not be licensed for adapting so make sure you are familiar with the Creative Commons series of symbols.