Copyright and Fair

Use
By: Kelsea Plantt

What is Copyright?
Copyright is a form of protection for original

works created by an author or person.

Copyright is granted by the law.
Copyright DOES NOT protect ideas or facts.
Copyright DOES protect literary, dramatic

musical and artistic works, including

movies, songs, etc.
Copyright protects even those works NOT

registered with the copyright.gov office, but

registration is recommended as it is
required if you are bringing a lawsuit of
infringement of your work.

What is Fair Use?

Fair Use is a legal term which describes the legal

use of copyrighted works under certain

circumstances.
Factors considered when determining if

something is fair use or not:

Purpose and character of the use- is it being used

for educational purposes or commercial purposes?

Nature of the copyrighted work- is this creative work
or factual work? Is it published or unpublished?
Amount and portion of the copyrighted work usedusing a portion of some works is permitted. The
portion varies based on the type of work.
Effect of the use upon the potential market for or
value of the copyrighted work- will the use of this
work effect its marketability?

So, whats the big deal?

Copyright infringement is when someone takes a work that is protected by copyright

and uses it in an unauthorized way.

Copyright infringement has become a serious crime in the United States.

Copyright infringement can bring about civil AND criminal penalties.
Anyone who uses copyrighted work illegally is subject to paying actual damages to

the author not less than $750 and not more than $30,000 per each work infringed.

Willful infringement of a copyrighted work can result in a civil penalty of up to

$150,000 per each work infringed, and criminal penalties including up to 5 years in jail
and up to a $250,000 payment for each work infringed.

Copyright infringement comes with a very serious penalty, so it is important to know

what is fair use and what is not.

Rules of thumb
The following video from

commonsensemedia.org lists a few

rules of thumb when it comes to using
copyrighted material fairly.
It is usually safe to assume that if you

think it is illegal, it probably is.

Make sure to cover all of your bases

and cite sources even if you do not

think it is necessary.
NEVER use something you are not

sure falls under fair use.

Why does copyright exist?

One of the reasons copyright exists is to encourage people to create new and creative

works and feel safe knowing others cannot copy their works and call it their own.

Copyright is sometimes viewed as one of the only ways authors can make any profit

off of their works.

Even so, copyright was not created to get authors rich, but to help the general public

benefit from other peoples creations (like learning new, unknown information).

Changes in copyright have been made over time as technology advances. Internet

copyright laws have become particularly important in more recent times, whereas they
did not exist not too long ago.

Copyright prevents others from stealing an idea, ensures the creator is given due

credit, ensures to creator receive compensation if it is due, and prevents others from
affecting marketability of the work.

Why does fair use exist?

As lawmakers realized that copyrighted materials could greatly benefit the general

public, fair use laws emerged.

Fair use ensures that copyrighted material can be used to the benefit and education

of the general public, as long as it is used for such and is not used in its entirety.

Fair use is a way for authors to share specific pieces of their work without having a

negative financial impact on the author or taking away any due credit. If such a
negative impact exists, the work is no longer protected under fair use. It is now
copyrighted material which cannot be presented as an original work.

Some purposes for fair use materials include: criticism, comment, teaching,

scholarship, or research. However, only portions of any give material is allowed and it
is up to the person using the material to know how much of any given work they are
allowed to use fairly.

More on
Copyright
The following video outlines how long
a copyright lasts for an author.

This video is from an interview done

by artisthousemusic.org of Maggie
Lange, who is an attorney and
Professor of Music
Business/Management at Berklee
College of Music.

A guideline for fair use

If you are not sure about your use of any

given material, ask yourself these

questions:
What am I using this material for? Is it for

education, criticism, or news reporting, or is

it for a profit? Some instances of for-profit
uses are fair, while some are not. If it is for
commercial purposes, it is likely not fair use.
What is the nature of the copyrighted work?
Is this work factual or creative? A creative
work is less likely to fall under fair use. Is
the work published or unpublished?
Unpublished works are less likely to fall
under fair use.

A guideline for fair use

continued
What amount of this work am I using, and

what is the substantiality of the portion

used? Using copyrighted text has different
guidelines for the amount allowed to be
used under fair use guidelines than using
copyrighted pictures or videos. How does
the portion you used in your work affect
the overall purpose of your work?
How much is the market value of this

copyrighted work affected by my use of

this material? If your use improves the
market of the original work, it is more
likely to be considered fair use.

Some tips to ensure fair use

Only use as much of a work as you need to get your point across
Use the work in a way that is clearly for academic purposes, criticism, or news

reporting.

Add some ideas of your own to the work to avoid simply just copying it.
Limit your information to facts and data.
Seek out Creative Commons works, which are works that are copyrighted but the

creator has a license with Creative Commons allowing for the use of their work in
academic situations.

These things will not 100% clear you of copyright, but they are a start to avoiding it.

In summary
Copyright laws in the United States need to paid very close attention by everyone, especially

students and teachers.

There is no black and white when it comes to copyright or fair use. If you think you are using

copyrighted information unfairly, DO NOT USE THAT MATERIAL. Always get permission to use
more of a portion of a work than what is allowed under fair use.

Copyright infringement laws come with huge penalties. It is much safer to ensure your work does not

copyright another work than to guess and assume it is safe to use.

Just because you are using copyrighted information for educational purposes does not mean you

can use any amount of the work you choose.

Portions of any copyrighted material may be used for academic purposes, so it is important to know

where to look to find what portions of what copyrighted works can be used.

Always follow copyright laws and fair use laws when creating any sort of original work and using

information from another copyrighted source. Sometimes these sources may not be obviously
copyrighted, so do your research and find out whether materials are copyrighted or not before use.

Resources
ArtistHouseMusic (Producer). (2008, January 9). Explaining Copyright Term and Fair Use. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MHTVI0MDF0w

Bloomsburg University. (n.d.) Summary of Civil and Criminal Penalties for Violation of Federal

Copyright Laws. Retrieved from https://www.bloomu.edu/technology/copyright_penalties

Common Sense Media (Producer). (2014, September 5). Copyright and Fair Use Animation. Retrieved

from https://www.commonsensemedia.org/videos/copyright-and-fair-use-animation

Digital Media Law Project. (n.d.) Fair Use. Retrieved from Copyright, B. (2007). Digital Media Law

Project. Retrieved October 02, 2016, from http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use

New Media Rights on Fri, 11/25/2011 - 14:48. (2011, November 25). New Media Rights. Retrieved

October 02, 2016, from

http://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/why_does_united_states_have_copyri

United States Copyright Office. Library of Congress. (n.d.) Copyright in General. Retrieved from

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html

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