Legal+Issues

(Image from: Google Images)

**Copyright**
media type="youtube" key="LJuw8EA0cYQ?fs=1" height="385" width="640" The above was a video about piracy, which is a type of copyright infringement that is easily broken thanks to the internet. However, just because the information is easy to attain does not mean that it is legal.

To have a copyright means that a specific person or company has the rights to whatever is copyrighted. If they notice someone else has used their work without giving them proper credit, then they have the right to take that individual or group to court. When recreating or rewording any work that is not your own it is important to properly cite where you got that information. In the //information age// it is incredibly easy to go online and find the answer to any question that you may have. However you have to make sure that you are especially careful when using any information whether it be an online article, website, picture, video, audio, movie, lecture notes, etc. As an educator it is important to advise your students of copyright laws and how serious they are. It would also be wise to further educate yourself in copyright laws to protect yourself. Remember, photocopying a workbook page for you students without the publishers consent is considered copyrighting! Just because it is often done in schools throughout the country doesn't mean that it is acceptable.

**Fair Use**
Please take part in the following survey to test your own knowledge of Fair Use- [|Click here!]


 * Copying protected material such as images, sounds, text, etc.
 * Considered "fair use" if you properly give credit to whoever the source you're using belongs to.
 * Judges use the following four factors to settle fair use disputes:
 * 1. The Transformative Factor- has the material been used to create something new, or has it been copied word for word for use in another work?
 * 2. Nature of the Copyrighted Work- is the material published or unpublished? Published work is better protected under the fair use law.
 * 3. Amount and Substantiality of Portion Taken- how much did you take? the less material has been taken, the less trouble you can get in.
 * 4. Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market- does your use either effect the income of the owner of the copyrighted work or the potential market for the copyrighted work?

**﻿﻿Creative Commons**

 * A not for profit organization that helps with licensing for **free**.
 * Helps all people, from individuals to large companies, change their copyright laws for **free**.
 * Dedicated to helping personalize copyright laws so that people and companies may decide the level to which their creative work is used.
 * Has already worked with companies like Google, Flickr, Wikipedia, and Whitehouse.gov.
 * Below is a video that further describes the goal of Creative Commons.

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Teacher Recommendations

 * Teach your students about copyright laws
 * Teach your students how to properly cite sources (ie: MLA, APA, Chicago) and what resources to use if they have questions
 * Share with your students the websites that offer free use of material with no copyright infringements
 * If you catch a student submitting work that isn't theirs, call attention to it immediately and take the necessary actions
 * It's better to catch your student's mistakes early, before they can face legal action.