We all know that as teachers we must understand our rights and responsibilities as users of copyrighted materials.  Not only must we understand but we also need to help our students make good choices when using copyrighted material.  This task will help you to determine what we can use, how we can use it, and when do we need to give credit.

First a few definitions:

Copyright–protects the rights of the person who creates a “work”.  Whether it be a poem, story, book, song, computer code, website, picture, movie, etc. copyright lasts for the life of the creator plus 70 years.

Public Domain–when copyright runs out or if a creator chooses, the work is placed here and can be used freely.

Fair Use–there are times when a copyrighted “work” can be used and considered to be fair.  Criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research.

   1.  The purpose and character of the use (commercial, nonprofit, teaching, etc.)

    2.  The nature of the copyrighted work (Is the work fact or fiction?)

    3.  The amount used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole and

    4.  The effect of the use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work.

Credit the source even if it is a fair use.  (It’s a good habit for you and your students)

Create a section to include: author, title, publisher, place and date of publication

Opening screen must include a statement that certain materials are included under the fair use and educational multimedia guidelines and further use is restricted.

Here is a copyright chart for your use:  copyright_chart