Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use

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What are copyright, plagiarism, and fair use?

Merriam-Webster defines

copyright as "the exclusive legal right to reproduce, publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of something (such as a literary, musical, or artistic work)."
plagiarism as "an act or instance of plagiarizing" which is "to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own use without crediting the source."
fair use as "a legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonable expected by the owner."

Fair use diagram with suggestions for determining fair use

Understanding Fair Use

Image with 3 ways to avoid plagiarism which are summarize, quote, and paraphrase

3 Simple Ways to Avoid Plagiarism

A vin diagram of plagiarism and copyright infringement

Plagiarism vs. Copyright Infringement

Acceptable:

give credit
cite your work
create a resource page
use open resources
do not use all of the information collected but add your own insights

Unacceptable:

take credit for someone else's work
not citing
having no resource page
use protected images and resources
using strictly the information collected without citing and adding your own insights

"Yes, I'll check out this resource to clear it up."

Copyright Basics

"This looks original to me, but maybe I should read more about plagiarism to make sure."

Understanding Plagiarism

More Useful Online Resources for Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use:

References

Copyright. (2018). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Fair use. (2018). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/

Plagarism. (2018). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved from https://www.merriam-webster.com/

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