COPYRIGHT LAWS

By,Jessica Toth

What are copyright laws?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the government to the authors of "original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works."

Those are copyright laws? I thought those were trademarks? Think again!

What are trademarks supposed to do?

They protect brand names, literally marking items in trade. They protect the consumer by giving them some confidence that items branded with a certain mark are authentic and come from where they purport to come from.

What do copyright laws have to do with educators?

As an educator, you CANNOT violate copyright laws for a number of reasons!

1: The misguiding of students.

2: Copyright offenses are ILLEGAL!

3: Termination of employment.

Now, would you like to learn about copyright laws to prevent this?

Educators have limitation on exclusive rights: Fair Use

"...the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching(including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

As an educator, how do you determine what is in the fair use stipulations? -Is your intention to purely promote it in an

education way for no profit whatsoever?

Is the copyrighted material factual?

Are you using your own original work in correlation to the completed copyrighted work?

Are you making sure you are not negatively effecting the copyright holder in the market?

If you replied to the questions on the previous slide as “yes”… Then you are within grounds of fair use!

More about fair use:

“In 1976, the Copyright Act was created and included what is known as the "common law doctrine of fair use." At that time, educational associations and commercial publishers also created a set of guidelines on photocopying. These rules stipulate a minimum level of copying which qualify under "fair use." This created a so-called "safe harbor" for photocopying. However, there have been notable exceptions of this from copyright holders who refuse to acknowledge these guidelines. It is important to note that the actual guidelines do not provide protection, only statutes such as the Copyright Act of 1976 deliver protection for fair use. The courts look at guidelines as a reference and not as a rule. “

Recap

What are copyright laws?

What is the difference between copyright laws and trademarks?

Why is important, as an educator to know about copyright laws?

What is fair use?

How do you know if you are being protected by fair use?

References

"Sec. 107. - Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use." The Copyright Site. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://thecopyrightsite.org/fairusedetailed.html>.

"What Is Copyright?" Copyright Website. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://www.copyrightwebsite.com/default.aspx>.