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Think about your past experience with research. Have you ever committed a copyright infringement?
What could you have change about the situation to make sure that you were covered by Fair use

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Creativity, Copyright, and Fair Use For Ethical Digital Citizens

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Creativity, Copyright, and Fair Use For Ethical Digital Citizens

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Creativity, Copyright and Fair Use | Common Sense Education

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As creators, we need to be aware of copyright law and the appropriate ways to use original work responsibly with fair use. Being a creator means giving credit where credit is due, and getting credit for your original work!

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Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines in an Electronic Environment.

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Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines in an Electronic Environment.

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Copyright Guidelines for Students and Educators / Overview

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In compliance with Federal Law, Rockingham County Schools administers all education programs, employment activities and admissions without discrimination against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, age or disability. The following persons have been designated to handle inquires regarding the nondiscrimination policies: Holly Williamson, 504 Coordinator or Dr. Cindy Corcoran, Title IX Coordinator 336.627.2600.

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If you can see or hear the materials on the Library of Congress website, you may view or listen to them on the site. We are making them available to you for that very purpose.

If you want to use or reuse the materials beyond our website, though, you need to be aware of copyright and other rights restrictions. (Just because we've put a work online doesn't mean that you can freely reuse it.) You need to decide for yourself whether the way you plan to use the materials is allowed under copyright law.

For a few questions that will help you decide, visit this section of the Library's Understanding Copyright page:

For more about copyright, including how to register a copyright claim, explore Engage Your Creativity from the U.S. Copyright Office.

FAQs for Students about Copyright and Creativity

Does copyright protect my ideas? Actually, copyright law does not protect your idea. Instead, copyright protects the tangible expression of your idea or system. Let's say you come up with a new skateboard jumping technique, and you write a book about the trick. The copyright of your book will prevent other people from publishing the text and illustrations describing the technique. But it will not give you any rights to prevent others from using your new jump.

I found old photos in my garage. Do I own the copyright? Probably not. You can register copyright in the pictures only if you own the rights to the work, for example, by will or by inheritance. Copyright is the right of the creator of the work or the creator's heirs, not of the person who found or possesses the photos.

If it's on the Internet can I use it? Copyright protects text and pictures on websites just like books, CDs, DVDs, and works in other media are protected. You might not see a copyright notice on a website, but that doesn't mean you're free to copy what you see or hear.

Is it ok to use up to 5% of someone else's work? Under certain circumstances, "fair use" allows you to use parts of someone else's work. There's no magic formula, though. Scholarly criticism, teaching, and news reporting may be valid reasons for reproducing a copyrighted work. A number of other factors also need to be considered. (SeeFair Use). When in doubt, it's always a good idea to ask the copyright owner for permission first.

Can anyone ever use my work without my permission? It's always best for people to ask your permission first, but under certain circumstances (See Fair Use), it's ok for other people to use parts of your work. Usually, parody, scholarly criticism, teaching, and news reporting may be valid reasons for using a small portion of your work.

Do I have to register my copyright to secure protection? Copyright protection actually begins at the moment the work is created on paper, recorded, or otherwise made permanent. However, for certain types of works, registration may be a good idea because you get certain additional benefits. Registration establishes a public record, which is necessary if you need to sue someone in court for infringement. If you win your case, you may also be eligible for statutory damages and attorney's fees.

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Copyright and Primary Sources | Getting Started with Primary Sources | Teachers | Programs at the Library of Congress | Library of Congress

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If you can see or hear the materials on the Library of Congress website, you may view or listen to them on the site. We are making them available to you for that very purpose. If you want to use or reuse the materials beyond our website, though, you need to be aware of copyright and other rights restrictions.

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Learn More about Plagiarism at kidshealth.org

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Learn More about Plagiarism at kidshealth.org

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Chris just found some good stuff on the Web for his science report about sharks. He highlights a paragraph that explains that most sharks grow to be only 3 to 4 feet long and can't hurt people. Chris copies it and pastes it into his report. He quickly changes the font so it matches the rest of the report and continues his research.

Uh-oh. Chris just made a big mistake. Do you know what he did? He committed plagiarism (say: PLAY-juh-rih-zem). Plagiarism is when you use someone else's words or ideas and pass them off as your own. It's not allowed in school, college, or beyond, so it's a good idea to learn the proper way to use resources, such as websites, books, and magazines.

Plagiarism is a form of cheating, but it's a little complicated so a kid might do it without understanding that it's wrong. Chris should have given the author and the website credit for the information. Why? Because Chris didn't know this information before he came to the website. These aren't his thoughts or ideas.

Plagiarism Steals Ideas

The word plagiarism comes from a Latin word for kidnapping. You know that kidnapping is stealing a person. Well, plagiarism is stealing a person's ideas or writing. You wouldn't take someone's lunch money or bike, right? Well, someone's words and thoughts are personal property, too.

What should Chris have done? He should have written down the name of the website and the name of the person who wrote the article. Then he could have added it and given credit to the source.

Teachers have different rules on how you list sources. Sometimes, you provide a list at the end of a report. Other times, a teacher might want you to list the source immediately after the information you took from that source. Or you might just make it part of the sentence (for example: "According to the National Institutes of Health, breathing secondhand smoke can cause problems for kids with asthma.").

All this shouldn't make you nervous to use websites, books, and other sources. It's great that you can get information from experts on stuff you don't know much about. You just have to make sure to show where the information came from. If you do that, you're in the clear.

It's not always easy to tell what's plagiarism and what's not. Sometimes, it's accidental - you really intended to do your own work, but instead ended up with some sentences that sound just like something you've read. You might not be doing it intentionally, but if you don't identify the original source, you're risking a lot of trouble.

So even if you put the information into your own words, you still should list the source. Ask yourself, "Would I know this if I hadn't read it on that website or in that book?" If the answer is no, list the source.

Plagiarism Is Lazy

Though plagiarism can be accidental, it's sometimes done on purpose and that's just being lazy. By copying whole paragraphs from different places, a kid doesn't have to spend the time thinking about the subject, gathering his or her own thoughts about it, and then putting it into original words. Cut, paste, and you're done.

But this is a shortcut that will probably catch up with a kid, even if he or she doesn't get caught for plagiarism. It's important for kids to be able to research a subject, think about it, and then come up with something interesting to say. This skill is important in elementary school, middle school, high school, college, and beyond. A kid who just lifts an entire report won't get the practice needed to become good at this.

Ask yourself, "Am I using this to avoid doing my own work? Is it easier just to copy this?" If the answer is yes, beware. You just might be plagiarizing.

What Happens if I Plagiarize?

Most schools are pretty strict about plagiarism. If you're caught, you can wind up suspended or worse. At the very least, you're probably going to fail the assignment. When you're older and in college, some schools will expel students who plagiarize. To be expelled means to be kicked out. And when you're kicked out of one college, it can be hard to get into another.

Also, when you apply for a job someday you want to be able to say, "I graduated from Supersmart University in 2020." You don't want to have to explain how Supersmart University kicked you out!

Avoiding Plagiarism

To be on the safe side, always make it clear where the information comes from. Your teacher will tell you how to do this. Sometimes, teachers ask kids to write a bibliography (say: bih-blee-OG-ruh-fee). That's a list of the sources you used for a project or report. To do that, you'll need to know the author, the title, and the date it was published. For instance, if you did a report on giraffes, you could give credit to an author this way:

Smith, Hazel B. "All About Giraffes." 2005.

But your most important guide on sourcing is your teacher. Different teachers will have different rules. If you're confused, ask questions to make sure you understand what your teacher expects. And if you write something really great about sharks or any other topic, maybe someday someone will be quoting you in a report!

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Chris just found some good stuff on the Web for his science report about sharks. He highlights a paragraph that explains that most sharks grow to be only 3 to 4 feet long and can't hurt people. Chris copies it and pastes it into his report.

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You Quote It, You Note It! - Vaughan Memorial Library

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Email: Vaughan Memorial Library 50 Acadia Street, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6 Phone: (902) 585-1249 General Inquiries

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© 2007, The Copyright Society of the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

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Copyright law applies to you no matter what age you are.

It's quite easy to break the law without knowing, for example if you:

* download films, TV programmes or computer games for free when you should pay for them
* copy and share music you've downloaded
* copy DVDs and share or sell them.

Why you need to know about copyright

If you learn about copyright, you can:

* be more certain that you're not breaking the law
* help make sure that artists, writers and musicians get paid for their work
* use copyright to stop other people using your own work without your permission.

This is particularly important at a time when most children have access to the internet and risk downloading or copying material without knowing that they're breaking the law.

Find out more

Children's copyright workbook

Copyright awareness learning activities for primary school children

Information leaflet for young people

Knowing your rights - young people

Learning activities for secondary school children

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Copyright law applies to you no matter what age you are. It's quite easy to break the law without knowing, for example if you: * download films, TV programmes or computer games for free when you should pay for them Read More ...

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Learners use valid information and reasoned conclusions to make ethical decisions in the creation of knowledge by:
1. Ethically using and reproducing others’ work

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Ms. Steward's 8th grade researchers!