Everything You Wanted to Know About Copyright, Ethics, & Fair Use

What cannot be protected by copyright?
• Works, ideas, and facts are in the public domain
• Words, names, slogans, or short phrases cannot be copyrighted (However, slogans can be protected by trademark law.)
• Blank forms What does it mean if something is copyrighted?
• Copyright guarantees for the creator of a work the right to: --copy --reproduce --distribute or sell --perform and display publicly --prepare new works based on the protected work

What is copyrighted?
• Literary works
• Musical works, including words
• Dramatic works, including music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and audio visual works
• Sound recordings

Internet copyright
• You cannot print web pages, photos, or other information from the internet without permission from the source (These are considered literary works under copyright law.) • The internet is NOT the public domain
• Assume a work is copyrighted

Tips for using the Internet
• Always credit the source of your information
• Find out if the author of a work (graphic, video, audio, etc.) provides information on how to use his or her work. If explicit guidelines exist, follow them.
• Whenever feasible, ask the owner of the copyright for permission. Keep a hard copy of your request and the permission received.

Even if you are not selling it
• You may not be making a profit, BUT you are preventing someone else from making a profit.
• It is still a violation if you give it away, AND there can still be heavy damages if you hurt the commercial value of the property.

Fair Use
• Criticism
• Comment
• News Reporting
• Teaching
• Scholarship
• Research

Fair Use factors (4)
• Purpose and character of use (Is it nonprofit? Is it educational?)
• The nature of the copyrighted work (Is it factual? • The amount that is used (Less is always better. Adhere to guidelines.)
• The effect of the use on the potential market (Are you preventing the creator from profiting financially?)

Fair Use guidelines
• Music, Lyrics, and Music Videos: --up to 10%, but no more than 30 seconds
• Illustrations or Photographs: --no more than 5 images from one artist --no more than 10% or 15 images from a collection
• Text Material: --up to 10% or 1000 words --3 poems per poet, 5 poems from different poets from an anthology
• Motion Media: --up to 10% or 3 minutes
• Multimedia Project: --no more than 2 copies may be made of a project
• Numerical Data Set: --up to 10% or 2500 fields or cells from a database or data table

But it doesn’t have the little ©
• In the U.S., almost everything created privately and originally after April 1, 1989 is copyrighted and protected whether it has a notice or not.
• Assume everything is copyrighted and may not be copied unless you have permission from the copyright owner.

But I cited the source
• Just giving credit to the author or owner does not protect you from copyright law violation. (In other words, just citing the source is NOT enough!)
• The only exception is if you have a licensing agreement w/ an author, publication, or company.

When should you get permission?
• When you intend to use the project for commercial or non-educational purposes
• When you plan to distribute the project beyond the scope of the guidelines
• The best answer to this is ALWAYS!

The duration of U.S. copyright
• The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act (signed in 1998) extended the protection of copyrighted work for 20 years
• Works are now protected for life of the author plus 70 years (it was previously life plus 50)

What about software copyright?
• Most software is copyrighted (one piece of software for every one machine) --site licensing (for multiple machines) is available
• 1 archival copy (for backup purposes only) is allowed • Shareware & freeware are still copyrighted
• Only public domain software is not copyrighted

How do I make that little © if I can’t find it on a symbol font?
Hold the Alt key down while individually typing 0 1 6 9 on the numeric keypad (to right)

Copyright Quiz
Fair Use Checklist
Copyright Agreement