The available information on this topic is voluminous and much of it is written in legal terms. So, I wanted to make a reference for myself and others that would be easy to understand.
Here's what I found...
COPYRIGHT
Copyrighted material is any original content in fixed form. Copyright gives the owner exclusive rights to the material and others must obtain permission from the author to use it.
Copyright does not include ideas in your head, government generated materials, titles, phrases, slogans, or other non-fixed materials. It is not legal to use copyrighted material without the permission of the author. Copyright is automatic upon creation of your original work in fixed, tangible form. Registration with the US Copyright Office is not needed for protection, unless you want to take someone to court for infringement. Exceptions to copyright use are Public Domain and Fair Use (see below)
Creative Commons License: A creative commons license is a copyright license that gives credit to the author while allowing others to have creative use of the material. There are several types of Creative Commons licences. Here is an overview:
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Not covered by copyright law for one of three reasons:
1. Copyright has expired. See here for more detailed information.
2. Author put them in public domain.
3. Not copyrightable - Ideas, slogans, government documents, etc.
FAIR USE
Legal use of copyrighted material. When courts decide whether a copyrighted work qualifies for “fair use”, there is no clear definition. However, here are the general guidelines:
1. Purpose and Character
- Is money being made from using the work? Is it being used for personal or educational purposes?
- Has the work been transformed or used as is?
2. Nature of Work
- Factual work is more often considered fair when re-used, than creative work
3. Relative Amount of Work Used
- Was all, almost all, or the heart of the work used?
- How much is too much depends on the purpose of the seconds use (See #1)
1. Effect on the Market
- Is the use of the material a substitute for the original?
- Uses for a different audience or purpose may be considered more fair.
The above Fair Use guidelines are not definite rules. In general, courts are most interested in whether the use of copyrighted work was in good faith.
CONTENT USE GUIDELINES:
Checklist when using someone’s content:
- Check who owns it
- Get permission to use it, if necessary
- Give credit to the creator
- Buy it (if necessary)
- Use it responsibly
- What might be the consequence of using it?
- How would the owner or creator of the content react?
Rules of Thumb: This document has actual “safe minimums” for use of multimedia content for educational purposes. It is posted on INFOhio.org, which is Ohio’s PreK-12 Digital Library. I was not able to find any such information on our own MARVEL- Maine’s Virtual Library.
Sources & More Information:
Teaching Copyright: http://www.teachingcopyright.org/handout/, See FAQs on Copyright, Fair Use, and Public Domain
Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/
Common Sense Media: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/scope-and-sequence
