Not all information posted on the internet is public domain. The law has changed. Any

work is copyrighted even though it does not display the proper copyright notice upon

publication. Copyright protection is automatic.

Whenever something is posted on the internet, the user is given an implied license to share, print, read or downloaded. However, boundaries of implied licenses are vague. If one intends, he can give his work an express license by attaching acreative commons (www.creativecommons.org) license to the materials posted on the website.

The libraries license academic resources for the use of their students. There are also millions of CC licensed work available online. If any of these options deem inaccessible, one can get permission to use a piece of work by obtaining the permission to use it through www.copyright.com. For the use in classroom you may use these resources as a fair use checklist: www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm;www.umuc.edu/library/copy.shtml#fairuse

Are very harsh. Court may order up to $150,000 in penalties. For the ignorance of the law one is liable for damages anyway.

It is best to follow the institutional copyright policy. By doing so, one can prove that the information was being used in a „fair way‟. If one disregards copyright laws the court would be willing to grant the highest penalties.

the TEACH Act covers works a teacher would show or play during class such as movie or music clips, images of artworks or a poetry

reading. It does not cover materials the teacher may want students to study, read,

listen to or watch on their own time outside of class. The teacher will have to rely on other rights they may have to post those

materials, such as the fair use statute, or get permission.

May be found at:

http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teachact.html

Because “orphan works” lack sufficient information to identify their owners or the date, most remain outside the digital environment. It

could have been used for nonprofit purposes but the copyright penalties are so great that most

nonprofits shy away from using Orphan works. However, exceptions have been showing up

lately. www.openlibrary.org and www.opencontentalliance.org are sources where

orphaned works and public domain may be accessed.

http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/