Copyright:What You Should Know

Jessica BurniasEDTC 6340.66

September 4, 2011

The First Copyright Law

Photos courtesy of Microsoft Clipart

Copyright Basics

Title 17

U.S. Code

Photo courtesy of Microsoft Clipart

Ownership/Author

• Ownership usually falls under the owner • Ownership could be sometimes be the employer

depending on why and when it was created• “An author is someone who contributes

copyrightable expression to the work.”• Examples of copyrightable expression– Poetry, Prose, software applications, artwork, musical

notation, recorded music and/or song, animations, video, java applets, a web page, a website design, blog posts and comments, architectural drawings, photographs

Fair Use

• Copyright Act of 1976– Sections 107-118

• Contains a list of various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair:– Criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and

research

• Four factors to determine fair use:– Is it for commercial use or is for nonprofit educational purposes– Nature of the work– The portion being used in relationship to the whole– Will it effect the value of the work

The Teach Act Section 110(1&2)

Photos courtesy of Microsoft Clipart

Copyright Infringement

• Anyone who uses an author’s work without the owner’s permission is guilty

• Examples: – Using an author’s work and proclaiming as your

own– Making copies of a book and selling the copies– Downloading music without paying for a copy

What is Not Protected by Copyright Law

• Ideas, procedures, methods, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices

• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans• Works by the US government

Alternatives

• There are different websites that contain works that can be used– Example

• www.clipart.com• Public Domain

– Intellectual property, not owned or controlled by anyone– These are public property anyone can use them for any

purpose– Includes

• Works with expired copyrights• Works released to the public domain by the copyright

holder• Government documents

Why is Copyright Important in the Classroom?

Photos courtesy of Microsoft Clipart

Works CitedCopyright Crash Course. 29 Aug 2011 <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/>

U.S. Copyright Office –Fair Use. Copyright-Fair Use. 4 Sept. 2011 <http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html>