Copyright FAQs
What is copyright?
Copyright is a Federal law that keeps someone's work from being copied, changed, or used without permission of the person who created it. Our Founding Fathers placed the law in Article 1 of the Constitution "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." If you create something (such as a story, song, or painting) copyright law ensures that it belongs to you and others must get your permission to use it.
What does copyright mean?
Copyright law allows the owner (or creator) exclusive rights to:
> Copy or distribute the work
> Publicly perform or display the work
> Make modification to the work
What can be copyrighted?
Anything in a tangible form, such as:
Literature
Music (including lyrics)
Drama
Choreography
Photos, paintings, sculpture, graphics
Movies
Video games and computer software
Sound recordings
What cannot be copyrighted?
Anything intangible
Titles or slogans
Ideas
Common information or facts
How can I copyright my own work?
Your work is automatically copyrighted once it becomes tangible (no longer an idea.) You may place a note on your work, such as "Copyright 2010, My Name," but this statement does not have to be present to be copyrighted. Realize that all works in tangible form are copyrighted whether the copyright symbol is there or not.
Is a work copyrighted forever?
No. There are limits to how long a copyright is in effect. A works stays copyrighted until 70 years after the death of its creator. Also, anything created before 1923 is not copyrighted. Once something is no longer copyrighted, it becomes part of the "public domain."
Do I really have to follow copyright laws? Everyone copies!
Copyright law means it's the law and there are some large fines and/or jail time associated with it. In fact, it is a felony to make more than 10 copies of something with a value of $2500. You can simply avoid breaking the copyright law by getting permission. Write or email the person who created the work and ask permission to use it. It's a good idea to explain why you are going to use their work and how it will be shown (i.e., to your class, in the school, a city-wide display, or the Internet.)
But I'm using this for school. Isn't it okay since I'm not making any money?
Remember The creator of the work owns the right to allow others to display it. You cannot add a picture, song, poem, or video to your school project without written permission from the person who created each piece of work. Using it for free means its creator was not able to sell it to you.
However, lawmakers understood the need for learning and Fair Use allows some uses of copyrighted material for education, but strict guidelines must be followed.
What are the Fair Use guidelines?
To use copyrighted material for education, it must meet all of these criteria:
Purpose - It must be used for education only (not for profit nor avoiding a purchase)
Nature of work - The original work should be more factual, not creative
Amount of work - You cannot use the entire work. Each type of work has its own limitations, but
generally it cannot be more than 10%.
Effect on market - The copyright owner should not lost any money.
Definitions
Copyright - a U.S. law that gives rights to writers, artists, musicians, and others to decide how their original works are to be copied and viewed. Although most are similar, each country has its own unique copyright law.
Fair Use - an exception to the copyright law that allows some use of copyrighted material for educational purposes. Be sure you know exactly how much is permissible. For instance, you can use up to 250 words of a poem for educational purposes but you cannot use more than 3 poems by the same poet nor more than 5 poems within the same anthology.
Public Domain - A collection of works that are not copyrighted. This includes government documents, works whose copyrights have expired, works that were created before 1923, and works that have been given to the public domain by their creators.
Trademark - a design or slogan that identifies a product, such as the yellow arches for McDonald's or "just do it" for Nike. Trademarks are registered and the symbol beside a registered trademark is the letter R in a circle.
More information
Brad Templeton's 10 Big Myths About Copyright
Cyberbee
Copyright is a Federal law that keeps someone's work from being copied, changed, or used without permission of the person who created it. Our Founding Fathers placed the law in Article 1 of the Constitution "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts." If you create something (such as a story, song, or painting) copyright law ensures that it belongs to you and others must get your permission to use it.
What does copyright mean?
Copyright law allows the owner (or creator) exclusive rights to:
> Copy or distribute the work
> Publicly perform or display the work
> Make modification to the work
What can be copyrighted?
Anything in a tangible form, such as:
Literature
Music (including lyrics)
Drama
Choreography
Photos, paintings, sculpture, graphics
Movies
Video games and computer software
Sound recordings
What cannot be copyrighted?
Anything intangible
Titles or slogans
Ideas
Common information or facts
How can I copyright my own work?
Your work is automatically copyrighted once it becomes tangible (no longer an idea.) You may place a note on your work, such as "Copyright 2010, My Name," but this statement does not have to be present to be copyrighted. Realize that all works in tangible form are copyrighted whether the copyright symbol is there or not.
Is a work copyrighted forever?
No. There are limits to how long a copyright is in effect. A works stays copyrighted until 70 years after the death of its creator. Also, anything created before 1923 is not copyrighted. Once something is no longer copyrighted, it becomes part of the "public domain."
Do I really have to follow copyright laws? Everyone copies!
Copyright law means it's the law and there are some large fines and/or jail time associated with it. In fact, it is a felony to make more than 10 copies of something with a value of $2500. You can simply avoid breaking the copyright law by getting permission. Write or email the person who created the work and ask permission to use it. It's a good idea to explain why you are going to use their work and how it will be shown (i.e., to your class, in the school, a city-wide display, or the Internet.)
But I'm using this for school. Isn't it okay since I'm not making any money?
Remember The creator of the work owns the right to allow others to display it. You cannot add a picture, song, poem, or video to your school project without written permission from the person who created each piece of work. Using it for free means its creator was not able to sell it to you.
However, lawmakers understood the need for learning and Fair Use allows some uses of copyrighted material for education, but strict guidelines must be followed.
What are the Fair Use guidelines?
To use copyrighted material for education, it must meet all of these criteria:
Purpose - It must be used for education only (not for profit nor avoiding a purchase)
Nature of work - The original work should be more factual, not creative
Amount of work - You cannot use the entire work. Each type of work has its own limitations, but
generally it cannot be more than 10%.
Effect on market - The copyright owner should not lost any money.
Definitions
Copyright - a U.S. law that gives rights to writers, artists, musicians, and others to decide how their original works are to be copied and viewed. Although most are similar, each country has its own unique copyright law.
Fair Use - an exception to the copyright law that allows some use of copyrighted material for educational purposes. Be sure you know exactly how much is permissible. For instance, you can use up to 250 words of a poem for educational purposes but you cannot use more than 3 poems by the same poet nor more than 5 poems within the same anthology.
Public Domain - A collection of works that are not copyrighted. This includes government documents, works whose copyrights have expired, works that were created before 1923, and works that have been given to the public domain by their creators.
Trademark - a design or slogan that identifies a product, such as the yellow arches for McDonald's or "just do it" for Nike. Trademarks are registered and the symbol beside a registered trademark is the letter R in a circle.
More information
Brad Templeton's 10 Big Myths About Copyright
Cyberbee