Educational Technology & Copyright Law

     Copyright is a United States federal law that protects original “works of authorship” which include literary, written, dramatic, artistic, musical and certain other types of works. When anyone creates any kind of writing or illustration, it is automatically copyrighted. Even if one takes a picture it is copyrighted. The four exclusive rights one has to his/her copyrighted work include the following:

1. The right to reproduce the copyrighted work
2. The right to display the copyrighted work publicly
3. The right to prepare the derivative works based on the copyrighted work
4. The right to distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale, rental or lending, and/or to display the image

     However, according to fair use, one is allowed to use copyrighted work within their project, presentation, etc. as long as one does not sell the material or claim it as his/her own. It is okay to use copyrighted work for nonprofit educational purposes. The copyright law states the following:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(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; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

     However, there are exceptions to the fair use policy. For example, if a photo is licensed, it cannot be used unless stated otherwise.