COPYRIGHT, FAIR USE,
AND CREATIVE COMMONS
W HAT YOU NEED TO KNOW B EF OR E C R EATING MULTI -MED I A PROJ EC TS!
WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?
“The exclusive and assignable legal
right, given to the originator for a
fixed number of years, to print,
publish, perform, film, or record
literary, artistic, or musical material.”
(Oxford Dictionaries)
COPYRIGHT FACTS:
• Length of copyright varies (sometimes
the life of the creator plus 70 years).
• Copyright notice is no longer required,
therefore the absence of does not
mean it is not copyrighted.
• When in doubt, assume that a work is
copyright protected!
(Copyright Society of the U.S.A.)
WHAT IS FAIR USE?
“Under the Fair Use Doctrine of the U.S.
Copyright statute, it is permissible to use
limited portions of a work . . . for purposes
such as commentary, news reporting, and
scholarly reports. Whether a particular use
qualifies as fair use depends on all the
circumstances.”
(U.S. Copyright Office)
FACTORS DETERMINING FAIR USE
1. Purpose of the use
2. Nature of the copyrighted work
3. Amount of the material used
4. Effect of the use upon the potential
market or value of the original work
(New York University)
KNOW THE RISKS
“Unless you are absolutely sure, relying on
the doctrine of “fair use” to avoid seeking
permission to copy a work is risky.
. . . The best course of action is simply to
seek permission for all copied material you
intend to use.”
(Copyright Society of the U.S.A.)
ALTERNATIVES TO USING
COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS
1. Look for works in the public domain.
2. Use materials with
licenses.
WHAT IS PUBLIC DOMAIN?
• “A public domain work is a creative work that
is not protected by copyright and which may
be freely used by everyone.”
• Works enter the public domain if:
• Copyright has expired
• Copyright criteria have not been met
• It is a work of the U.S. government
(New York University)
Online sources for finding
works in the Public Domain:
http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/lesson
_images/lesson1085/PDSources.html
http://copyrightfriendly.wikispaces.com/
WHAT IS CREATIVE
COMMONS LICENSING?
Watch this video to find out:
Search for Creative Commons
licensed works:
http://creativecommons.org/
Works Cited
"Can I Use Someone Else's Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?" U.S. Copyright Office. U.S. Copyright Office,
16 July 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
Cann, A. J. “Creative Commons.” Image. Flickr. AJC1’s Photostream, 30 July 2008. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
“Computer Music Icon Theme Multimedia.” Image. Pixabay. Nemo, 03 April 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
“Copyright.” Definition of in Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press, April 2010. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
"Copyright and Fair Use." Bern Dibner Library of Science and Technology LibGuide. Polytechnic Institute of New
York University, 2013. Web. 22 Jan. 2013.
“Copyright Basics." Copyrightkids. Copyright Society of the U.S.A., 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
“Copyright Symbol Red.” Image. Pixabay. Nemo, 16 April 2012. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
"Creative Commons License-Creative Commons Kiwi." YouTube. YouTube, 04 Jan. 2012. Web. 23 Jan. 2013
Creative Commons.org. Creative Commons, n.d. Web. 21 Jan. 2013.
"Online Sources for Finding Works in the Public Domain." ReadWriteThink. International Reading
Association/National Council of Teachers of English, n.d. Web. 23 Jan. 2013.
Valenza, Joyce. "Copyright-Friendly and Copyleft (Mostly!) Images and Sound." Copyrightfriendly. n.d. Web. 23
Jan. 2013.