FAIR USE AND

COPYRIGHT
Melanie Hammett
ET247
Fair Use Copyright Presentation

What is Copyright?
Copyright is a law that protects an individual who has created some
type of work that is original and created only by that person.
Copyright allows for it to be illegal for someone else to take an
individuals work that has been copyrighted.
Copyright= PROTECTION!

How do you know if something is

copyrighted?
If something is not copyrighted that just means that the information is
public domain, which means that it is open to the public to use.
You can search something, that you suspect may be copyrighted,
through the records on the US copyright website.
Just because something doesnt have a copyright symbol, does not
mean that it is not copyrighted.

What exactly is a public domain?

There is no copyright- there is no protection on the sources in public
domain.
There is no permission needed because it is open to the public.
No one can own the public domain.
The public has full access to anything that is considered a public
domain/

What is Fair Use?

Fair use is extremely helpful for teachers!
Fair use is copyrighted material that can be used for educational
purposes with strict and specific guidelines.
Some ways you can differentiate between fair use and copyright:
1. The material being used is for education.
2. The information being utilized must be in portions, not the work as a
whole.
3. The information being used must be sited so that you are not taking
credit for work that is not yours.

Fair Use Guidelines:

There are certain guidelines for almost every type of source in order to
obtain or use information the classroom. For example:
Articles, stories, and essays must be less than 2,500 words
There can only be one copy per student, so no student should have
two copies- just one
Portions from work that is longer must be only 10% used or 1,000
words (choose the option that is less)
These are just three examples of the fair use guidelines. There are many
other examples but I wanted to show just how specific these guidelines
are, so be careful!

Here is a more animated and fun way to

understand what we have gone over so far..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suMza6Q8J08

The main differences:

Copyright

Fair Use

Its a law

Its a guideline

Something is copyrighted if it is
ORIGINAL

Teachers can only use portions (specific

guidelines)

Getting permission to use something is

a must

Used for educational purposes only

You must register your work on the US

copyright website

You cannot make a profit from the work

being used

Fair Use Examples:

1. Finding an essay online that correlates with the lesson you are going
to teach and narrowing the essay down to an excerpt that is less that
2,500 words,
2. You are teaching a lesson on the Great Depression and want to
attempt to recreate a scene from that time period so you use 30
seconds of a song that correlates with that time period.

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Copyright Infringement
Examples:
Making a CD of music that you have obtained online, making copies of
that CD and distributing it to friends at school.
Giving your students more than one copy.
Finding a book that pertains to your unit and using more than one
picture or chart from that one book.

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References and Citations:

Carolyn E. Wright. Use Information Correctly. Retrieved from
http://
www.gcflearnfree.org/useinformationcorrectly/copyright-and-fairuse/full/.
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers. Retrieved from https://
unco.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3121957-dt-content-rid6464455_1/courses/ET347-970_201530_24100/copyrightTEACH.pdf.
Dr. Mia Kim Williams. Copyright and Fair Use. Retrieved from
https://
unco.blackboard.com/bbcswebdav/pid-3121957-dt-content-rid9595113_1/courses/ET247970_201650_10892/ET_449_MASTER_ImportedContent_20150504104531
%283%29/MWCopyrightFairUse.pdf.
Common Sense Education. Copyright and Fair Use Animation. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suMza6Q8J08.

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