Copyright and Fair Use

So What Counts as "Creative Work"?

• Ideas, opinions, and artistic expressions
• Of known authorship
• Exists in recorded form (whether physical or digital)
• Covers writing, painting, music, sculpture, designs, plans, formulae, etc.

Wait...
Can't Great Ideas Just be Copied?

No! U.S. Copyright Law ...

• Reserves legal rights to the creator of the work (or the entity who commissioned the work for hire)
• Does not require registration of the work - it only has to have been published/recorded
• Lasts throughout the creator's life
• Gives the copyright holder exclusive authority to allow copies

But what if I'm the sharing type and just want credit?

Option 1: Creative Commons

• Allows a creator to make it easier for their work to be incorporated into other expressions (web pages, reports, art, etc.)
• Does not require gaining permission
• Most uses allowable provided credit is given to the creator

But what if people just take the work?

Well, that could be Piracy...

• Mostly applies to copies of music, software, movies in their whole form
• Involves full copies, reverse engineering, or other forms of defeating copy protection
• Usually related to illegal "blackmarket" sales or "ripped" downloads
• Can result in civil or criminal penalties

... or it could be Plagiarism

• Usually involves just part of a printed or recorded work
• That work is passed off as the plagiarizer's own work
• May be unintentional due to improper citation/crediting of the work
• Can result in severe academic penalties

So, what is OK to use in a report, mashup, or presentation?

Public Domain
(When are Golden Oldies Fair Game?)

Public Domain

• Copyrights expire 70 years after death of owner
• Many images, literary works, old songs and movies are in the Public Domain
• Can be used without permission
• Users are still expected to give full credit if authorship is known

Fair Use
(Could I use this Iconic Image?)

Fair Use Guidelines :

• Can only be used for education, news reporting, parody, or criticism
• Can only involve a small portion of the original work (amounts vary by type of work being copied)
• The portion used must be incorporated into a demonstrably new usage
• Does not require permission
• BUT... usage may still be challenged!

So yes... I can use Gort, as long as he is here to make some kind of point other than being an Art Deco Robot!

And as long as I give the filmmakers credit!

Speaking of Credits, see the works cited page:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jOa_zXKr45ZxpyCAgrdXXbEd8npJvljM_sSy55J...