INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY,
COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE
What is
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY?
First, let’s think
about the
meaning of the
word property.
Property is
something you
own. It has value.
You can sell it for
money.
An example of
property is a house.
Or, land, jewelry,
a car.
But, is property
only something
you can see or
touch?
No.
Property can also
be something
“non-tangible” or
untouchable.
An example of a nontangible property is a
design for a new kind of
car, one that uses solar
power instead of petrol.
We mean not the
physical car but the
IDEA of the car. The
designer owns the
IDEA of the car.
We call this
INTELLECTUCAL
PROPERTY. The owner
can sell the idea to a
company that makes
cars.
Another kind of
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
is the written word,
scientific writing or
creative fiction.
Authors’ words are
considered their
property and are
protected by laws
called COPYRIGHT.
Authors make their
living and support
their families by their
writing. Authors can
sell their words to a
publishing company.
COPYRIGHT protects authors
from “piracy” or someone
stealing their words and
making money that should go
to the author or the author’s
family.
If there were no
COPYRIGHT, there
would be no financial
reason for authors to
write anything.
Many “valuable” ideas
would never be
explored because
authors would have to
make a living doing
something else.
But, the time period of a
COPYRIGHT is not forever.
After a number of years,
COPYRIGHT expires.
After COPYRIGHT
expires, a work is
said to be in the
“public domain” and
anybody can print the
words and sell them.
Also, there are some
exceptions to 100%
COPYRIGHT.
Not ALL copying or
reproduction is
prohibited.
Students and others can
use words and ideas from
a work. But, there are
some rules about this.
If you use the exact
words from a book or
other source, you must
put quotation marks
around them and make
a Reference List
We will learn more
about how to do
this in the Plug In
lessons on In-text
Citations and
Making a Reference
List.
You can also use an
author’s idea but not
exact words. We call
this paraphrasing.
We will learn more about
this in the Plug In lesson
on Paraphrasing.
For the public benefit,
some physical copying of a
written work is permitted.
We call this FAIR USE.
Fair Use is sometimes
complicated and can
vary from country to
country.
Citation and
referencing are always
required.
Let’s look at 4 aspects
to determine FAIR USE.
The 1st aspect of
FAIR USE deals
with the purpose
of the use.
If the purpose is
educational, not commercial
to make money, then the
use is usually considered
fair.
The 2nd aspect of
FAIR USE has to do with
the nature of the
copyrighted work.
If the work states
scientific facts, then use
of the facts is usually
considered fair.
The 3rd aspect of
FAIR USE has to do
with the amount of
the original you
want to use.
If the amount is a small
percentage of the whole,
then the use is considered
fair.
The 4th aspect of
FAIR USE has to do
with the way a use
will affect the market
value of the original.
If a use has little
or no effect on the
market value, then the
use is usually considered
fair.
For more information
about COPYRIGHT and
FAIR USE in the United
Arab Emirates, see
this website.
http://www.zu.ac.ae/library/html/UAEInfo
/documents/UAECopyright.pdf
To review :
What someone writes is his
or her property just like a
house or a car. We call this
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY.
COPYRIGHT protects an
author’s work from being
“stolen” or used to make
money without their
permission.
FAIR USE allows a
work to be used for
the public good. It
has 4 aspects.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Purpose of the use
Nature of the original work
Amount of the original to be used
How the use affects the market value of
the original
I hope this helps you
understand the
concepts of
INTELLECTUAL
PROPERTY, COPYRIGHT
& FAIR USE.
Ask your teacher or your
friendly librarian if you
have any questions.
Thank you
for listening.