Basic Copyright

  • What is Copyright?  
     
    Copyright is a Federal law that protects your work or anyone else's work from being copied, changed, or used without permission.  In other words, when you create a story, poem, picture, or any other works, it belongs to you.  Other people have to get permission to use it.
     
    What is Fair Use?
     
    Fair Use is a set of guidelines that allows you to use part of copyrighted works for educational purposes such as a report or multimedia presentation. 
     
     
    Fair Use Guidelines
    Text:
    Up to 1000 words, but not more than 10% of the book or article
     
    Poems:
    Up to 250 words or the entire poem if less than 250 words
    No more than 3 poems by the same author
    No more than 5 poems in a collection of poetry
     
    Photographs or Drawings:
    Up to 5 graphics or photographs by the same person
    No more than 15 images from a collection
    Images cannot be changed.
     
    Video:
    Up to 3 minutes but no more than 10% of the entire video
    The video clip cannot be changed.
     
    Music:
    Up to 30 seconds but no more than 10% of sheet music
    Up to 30 seconds but no more than 10% of recording
    The music cannot be changed in any major way.
     
    Citations:
    Remember to cite your sources.
    Multimedia presentation must include a statement indicating fair use for educational purposes.
    Copyright information must be included in bibliography.
     
     
    If using online sites for information, check the copyright regulations.  Some sites allow use of information without copyright infringement.  If you have questions about a site, ask your teacher or the media specialist.  They will be able to help you. 
     
     
    The following links will provide more information 
    about copyright and general guidelines:
      
      

Creative Commons