COPYRIGHT LAWS

ALLY MCGEHEE
DEFINING COPYRIGHT

Legal protection provided for creators of content by way of designating specific rights to
works and their qualifying protection.
Like trademarks and patents, copyrights are intellectual property
Qualifying works include:
Literary work
Musical composition
Film
Software program
Painting
Journals/articles
COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT

Penalties for copyright infringement can be harsh, especially in monetary consequences.

Courts can inflict up to $150,000 for every individual act of willful infringement.
Willful infringement: a person knows he or she is infringing on copyright laws but he or she
does so anyway.
If the person infringing was not aware he or she was doing so, this person will still be legally
responsible for the damages. However, the amount of the reward would be decreased
accordingly.

Defendents may seek to prove a good faith fair use defense [17 USC 504(c)(2)]
If the person infringing genuinely believes they were following fair use guidelines
DEFINING FAIR USE
Distinguishes ways of using copyrighted works that legally
does not require authorization from the creator of the
copyrighted content. Such uses are often minimal and
used for commentary, research, and education. Consider
the purpose of the use, the nature of the copyrighted
work, the amount used of the work, and the effect on the
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA
value of the protected work.
 FAIR USE FOR EDUCATORS & STUDENTS

Provide credit sources with full bibliographic Educators Fair Use

information
In person instruction for the curriculum
Show copyright ownership information if used from an
original source How to presentations for multimedia

Incorporate copyright information for an image into For distance instruction

the image itself or the bibliography
Only kept by educator for two years
Seek permissions if you are unsure of the fair use
accommodations for a work
Include on opening screen or page that the
presentation was prepared under fair use exemption of
the U.S. Copyright Law
FAIR USE GUIDELINES Information from
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

Type of Media Allowed Additions

Text Up to 10% or 1000 words of a copyrighted work
Poems Entire poem (< 250 words)
< 250 words of longer poem
5 poems from anthology
3 poems per poet
Motion Media Up to 10% or 3 minutes of copyrighted work Clip cannot be altered

Illustrations Entire photo or illustration

<5 images of one artist
Up to 10% or 15 images of a single collection
Music Up to 10% or 30 seconds of a copyrighted work No alterations to basic
melody or character
FAIR USE GUIDELINES Information from
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

Type of Media Allowed Stipulations

Internet Check for permissions to use resources and
content
Numerical Data Up to 10% or 2500 fields or cell entries of a Field entry: item of info
Sets copyrighted database in a database file
Cell entry: intersection
of row & column on
spreadsheet
OBTAINING COPYRIGHT PROTECTION

Copyright is automatically in place when an original work is created in a tangible form.

Registration with the Copyright Office is not required but recommended.
To show copyright:
Use the symbol or Copyright or Copr
Include the year of first publication
Include the name of the copyright owner or creator within the work
 GETTING PERMISSION

Identify owners and contact them.
If you cannot identify the owners, contact
the authors and ask who owns the copyright
Steps to gaining permission differ upon the
type of copyrighted work
Get specific permission in writing from
the proper authorized owner
Or well-documented oral permission
Check the Copyright Clearance Center

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA