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Introduction
You are probably familiar with the logo to the left. It's shown before every movie seen on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services as well as on movie channels, TV stations, DVD's, Blu Ray discs, and Videotapes (yes, we even had copyright thenš!) Breaking copyright laws isn't just rude and considered cheating, but it's a crime. It is vital that you have permission from the creator of material and/or that you cite it properly.
The good news is that, as a student, you have some liberties through Fair Use and Creative Common licenses for the projects you create in school. By using Fair use and Creative Commons licensed material you are using ideas that the creator is willing to share without explicit permission.
On this page, you will see guidelines that show you the do's and don'ts of using other people's creations.
Copyright
Just because it's on the internet, it is NOT free to use! Every image, every paragraph, every song lyric, every poem, and every online book is automatically copyrighted upon its creation. This means that when even you search Google images, you need to cite the source of that image in addition to citing text in your paper or presentation. If you copy or paste from a paragraph, song lyric, or poem, you need to cite it properly. If you don't, it is plagiarism. That's right- plagiarism is copyright infringement! Not only can you get a zero for your assignment, but you could be sued by the person you are copying from!
It is a little more complicated than that, but this is a good guiding principle.
Everything you create is automatically copyrighted! This means the videos you make, the pictures you take, the pictures you draw, and everything you write is considered your property and it is up to you if let anyone to use it. There are some exceptions to this which we will discuss, but it is an accurate general statement.
So what if you want to share what you've made with the world? That's where our next two sections come in: Fair Use Guidelines and Creative Commons Licenses.
The video below from the Copyright Clearance Center explains the basics of Copyright.
Fair Use
Fair use is a way that copyrighted work can be used more freely. You as a student, and me as a teacher have a few less restrictions as long as our material is kept within the classroom. However, there are rules that go along with this freedom called "Fair Use Guidelines." While the stipulations below are not laws, you can be subject to copyright infringement if you use too much of a work, if you don't cite the source, and if you use it incorrectly. Consider the following when using material under "Fair Use."
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- As a student, you are protected under the Fair Use Guidelines only if it is for your school project and not uploaded to the internet or the public sphere.
- Cite the copyright owner .
- Don't use something that was designed to sell to schools or other students.
- Don't use pirated or other illegal material.
- Exactly how much of a work can be used is not written as a law but if you use too much, the author can claim copyright infringement. To be safe, follow the the "10% rules" below about using the different types of media. Only use:
- "10% or three minutes of a video, whichever is less
- 10% or 1,000 words, whichever is less [of text]
- 10% or 30 seconds of music, whichever is less
- entire images can be used but you should only use five works per artist and 10% or 15 images from one published work, whichever is less." 1 ( Lisa Halverson, 2017)
- You can use 250 words of a poem/song lyrics or 10% whichever is less.2
- 2 pages of pictures and text from a children's book or 10%, whichever is less.3
Remember that Copyright FBI Warning? Here's one addressing Fair Use:
Watch the video to the right for more details about how to best use Fair Use Guidelines as a student.
Creative Common License Explained
You make a video, you own the copyright, and you put it on YouTube. Now it's trending and people want to use it. Imagine all those people asking permission to use your copyrighted work! If you want to allow people to use video without contacting you but you still want a say in how they use it, you can get a Creative Commons license.
There are many options regarding how you want to share your creations. Each symbol represents different permissions. Here are some options:
- You can mark the video as public domain so anyone can do anything they want with it.
- You can indicate that people can use your work but they can't change it and they have to recognize you.
- You can allow people to use and edit your work freely but they have to recognize you as the original creator.
- You can restrict how people license the work they create from yours.
- You can restrict whether or not people can use your work commercially.
It is important you understand these symbols so you respectfully use material the way the author allows. Watch the video below and examine the image to the left to see explanations in more detail.
Both Google and YouTube have filters and tools to help you find images and movies with a creative common license. There are also web sites and search engines that only show work with one of these licenses. To search for pictures, try pixabay.com. To find music to use, try freeplaymusic.com.
Want more details about Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons Licenses? Check out the Additional Resources below:
Additional Resources
- Take a look here at copyrightkids.org for basics about copyright law in an easy to read format.
- This is an easy to understand checklist for Fair Use from http://www.schrockguide.net.
- CreativeCommons.org tells how to use to creative commons licenses to share your work.
- Owl Purdue Writing Lab gives you a tremendous resource for making sure you cite material properly.
You've seen Crash Course in class for history and science. This is a fantastic resource for understanding the differences between Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons. Watch this video for more!
Sources
1 Halverson, Lisa (2017). edit764fall2017, Fair use. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/edit764fall2017/module2
2, 3 Star, Linda (March 5, 2017). Is fair use license to steal? Retrieved from http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280b.shtml
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