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Plagiarism & the Ethical Use of Info.

Avoiding plagiarism, citation formats, copyright and fair use

Copyright

Copyright is a law provided by the Congress of the United States that gives you ownership over what you created; it protects the original owner of authorship. In most cases, to use copyrighted works, you must first acquire permission from the rights holders.

Copyrightable works include:

  • Literary works
  • Musical works, including any accompanying words
  • Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
  • Choreographic works
  • Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  • Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  • Sound recordings
  • Architectural works

Copyright Basics, 2021.United States Copyright Office.

In an academic setting, there is a "fair use" exception to the permission requirement, but it is only available if you meet the guidelines. In cases where the guidelines are not met, permission must be sought.

Copyright law gives copyright holders the exclusive right to reproduce their works for a limited time. After that time expires, copyrighted works theoretically move into "the public domain".The term "public domain" "refers to a creative work that is not protected by copyright laws and that may be freely used by everyone. There are four common ways that works arrive in the public domain:

  • the term of copyright for the work has expired
  • the owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
  • the owner deliberately places it in the public domain, known as "dedication"
  • copyright law does not protect this type of work
  • the work is a work of the U. S. Government.

Welcome to the Public Domain, (2022) Stanford University Libraries, Copyright & Fair Use.

Digital Copyright Slider-Use this helpful handout created by Michael Brewer and ALA Office of Information Technology Policy (used under CC BY NC SA).

The United States Copyright Office defines Fair Use as "a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances" (More information on fair use, 2021). Essentially, the law allows for the limited use of copyrighted works for purposes such as criticism, comment, new reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.

Section 107 of the Copyright Act says to consider the following factors In determining the question of fair use:

  1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
  3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
  4. and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or values of the the copyrighted work. The fact tht a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

Copyright Law of the United States and Related laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code. (2021). U.S. Copyright Office.