First Point: If you copy anyone’s work and turn it in as your own for credit in a class assignment, you will be reprimanded. You are here to learn, dont waste our time by cheating.
What is Copyright
Copyright gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work, including its publication, distribution and adaptation, after which time the work is said to enter the public domain. Copyright applies to any expressible form of an idea or information that is substantive and discrete and fixed in a medium. Some jurisdictions also recognize “moral rights” of the creator of a work, such as the right to be credited for the work. Copyright is described under the umbrella term intellectual property along with patents and trademarks.
Copyright has been internationally standardized, lasting between fifty to a hundred years from the author’s death, or a shorter period for anonymous or corporate authorship. Some jurisdictions have required formalities to establish copyright, but most recognize copyright in any completed work, without formal registration. Generally, copyright is enforced as a civil matter, though some jurisdictions do apply criminal sanctions. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright)
Some handy articles
- 10 Big Myths about copyright explained
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act
- Stanford Copyright & Fair Use Center
- Download A Fair(y) Use Tail. Made by Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University and presented by the Media Education Foundation.
- A Fail(y) Use Tail Streaming
New Options for Copyright
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit corporation dedicated to making it easier for people to share and build upon the work of others, consistent with the rules of copyright. We provide free licenses and other legal tools to mark creative work with the freedom the creator wants it to carry, so others can share, remix, use commercially, or any combination thereof.
Fair Use and the Public Domain
Fair use is a doctrine in United States copyright law that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, such as use for scholarship or review. It provides for the legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another author’s work under a four-factor balancing test. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use)
The public domain is most often discussed in contrast to works whose use is restricted by copyright. Under modern law, most original works of art, literature, music, etc. are covered by copyright from the time of their creation for a limited period of time (which varies by country). When the copyright expires, the work enters the public domain. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_domain)
Content in the Public Domain
Most anything paid for m by the government via our tax dollars is for us so its in the public domain. Wikipedia only posts images that are copyright free, so any images that you find there may be used freely. In addition to that, they have a huge directory of free use content which includes historical images, books, music, art and photography.
