Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons

Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons FYIs

What is copyright?

Copyright is protection given to the authors or creators of “original works of authorship,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and other intellectual works.  Authors of work have the sole right to copy the work, distribute copies of that work, publicly perform and/or display the work, and make derivative works. It is illegal for anyone other than the author to do these things without explicit permission from the author, except in the case of Fair Use.

Copyright law is US federal law.  The current copyright law is the Copyright Act of 1976.

What is Fair Use?

Fair use exists due to copyright laws (The Copyright Act of 1976). Typically we think of copyright laws limiting what we can do with media/works. But actually, the second half of the copyright agreements empower us to share as a culture. This if often overlooked! Copying, quoting, and re-using existing material can be a really important part of creating and shaping our culture. This is why we agree to share our work with others, with limits, in order to keep that opportunity alive.

You must consider these 4 elements to decide if your use is FAIR USE:

• The purpose and character of the use – Did you transform the original?
• The nature of the material – ls it factual, creative, consumable?
• The amount used – Did you use only the amount necessary?
• The effect on the market for the original – Are you taking someone’s profits?

If your use falls under Fair Use, you do not need permission from the original owner/creator of the work to use it.

Poster Source of information above

When it’s okay to REMIX, REUSE, or SHARE content, you can use the Creative Commons licenses to guide your work.

What is Creative Commons?

Creative Commons in the Classroom