Copyright

What's the deal with the © ?

What is copyright?

Why should you care about copyright?

What does copyright protect and what does it NOT protect?

What are works in the "public domain?"

What is "fair use?"

► How can you avoid copyright infringement?

Is it copyright infringement?
(interactive game)

How can you avoid copyright infringement?

Don't EVER copy ANYTHING! 

Just kidding!  Copyright is a complicated and thorny issue, but you can successfully avoid infringement and still copy stuff.

If your use of a work falls under the fair use provision, then you're all set!  You do not have to get permission from the creator, but you do need to give credit to the creator.  "Copyrighted images, graphics, video, sounds, and written material must always be referenced; this is true even if the material is only being used once for a class presentation or project. This is important in case you should change your mind and want to use material for commercial or extended purposes; you would have a record of the copyright information and of where and when you found the material." (http://www.stanford.edu/~asierra/cpyright.htm)

For example, if you use a clip of a song in your PowerPoint presentation, be sure to have a slide at the end that acknowledges the artist and from where the sound clip came.  If you incorporate a diagram from a book into a paper, be sure to indicate where you got it.

If the use of the work does not fall under the fair use provision, then you must request permission from the copyright owner to use the copyrighted work.  This is the RIGHT and LEGAL thing to do. 

Below are some resources which will give you more information on requesting permission for use from copyright owners.

Websites:

Getting Permission
http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/permissn.htm

Getting Permissions
http://www.cod.edu/library/services/copyright/permissions.htm

Books:

Search URSUS by KEYWORD for copyright.

UMF Staff

Janet Brackett, Head of Access Services at the Mantor Library, is very knowledgeable about copyright issues and can help to guide you in these matters.