Copyright+and+Fair+Use

=Copyright and Fair Use=

What is copyright?
[|Copyright] protection begins the moment a work is created on paper, even if it is not 'registered'. Just because something is on the internet, doesn't mean it isn't copyright protected. It's always best to ask permission and/or cite literary works, images, and music that you find and use in your own work. This guideline is applicable to both teacher and students as they navigate through the information 'superhighway.' Still confused...try watching the following video on fair use:

[|Fair Use] The video below is from the [|Media Education Lab] and explains, through music, copyright and fair use. media type="custom" key="4203817" Section 107 of the US Copyright Law includes a list of purposes for which the use of copyright material may be considered 'fair' including criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. It also notes four factors to be considered in determining whether a particular use is fair:
 * The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or nonprofit educational uses
 * The nature of the copyrighted work
 * The amount of the portion used in related to the copyrighted work as a whole
 * The effect of the use on the potential market, or value of, the copyrighted work

[|Creative Commons]
media type="custom" key="4203907" Creative Commons is a non-profit organization working to increase the amount of creativity available for free and legal use, sharing, remixing. [|Creative commons] identifies the spectrum of possible uses of a work from fully protected to public domain - from all rights reserved to some rights reserved. Creative Commons DOES NOT REPLACE copyright, but rather works along with copyright to protect your work while allowing certain uses. The [|Creative Commons License] shows the 6 creative common licenses and explains the use of each.

Resources
US Copyright Office - anything you ever wanted to know about copyright! Taking the Mystery Out of Copyright for Students and Teachers 10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained - Quick read to familiarize yourself with common misconceptions about copyright. Fair Use- A site created by Stanford University to describe fair use. [|Copyright for Kids]- Great site for kids to review as they learn the importance of citing information in reports and other student generated works. Also a simple reference for teachers to use and understand.