Media Restrictions and Laws
As educators, it is not only important to be aware of the laws in place regarding intellectual property, but we must also teach our students how to be good digital citizens.
I am pretty sure everyone is aware that copyright laws protect intellectual property from use by unauthorized parties. However, there are different levels of protection: fair use, creative commons, and public domain.
Fair Use
Even though, an intellectual property is protected by copyright laws, it can still be used by others if it meets fair use guidelines. Fair use allows intellectual property to be used in certain circumstances. To determine if usage falls under fair use laws, you must ask the following questions:
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What will the work be used for (commercial or non-commercial use)?
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What is the nature of the copyrighted work (more creative or factual)?
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How much of the copyrighted work is being used?
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Will your usage diminish the value of the copyrighted work? (U.S. Copyright Office, 2020)
Intellectual property is often used in the academic setting under the fair use law. When a student quotes a portion of a book in their writing, this would fall under the fair use policies. However, the student must give credit to the original author and follow citation rules.
Creative Commons
Some works are free to use by others with varying limitations. There is creative commons and public domain. Creative Commons licenses is when permission is given to the public to use intellectual property. (Creative Commons, 2020). Even though, the property may have a creative common license, it is still important to give credit to the author when using the work. Creative Commons is often used with graphics. There are many graphic available under creative commons on Google or Bing.
Public Domain
Public domain is intellectual property that is not protected by copyright laws. Material will normally fall into this category under the following circumstances:
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copyright laws have expired or was not renewed
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the type of work does not fall into a protected category
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an author allows their work to be placed into public domain (Stim, 2019)
