Eduactional Technology and Copyright Laws

• 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. 
• All content is copyrighted immediately and does not require filing paperwork. 
• When a student or anyone for that matter, draws a picture, writes a story, snaps a picture, scribbles on a notepad or hums a new tune, etc., the work is copyrighted. 
• The instant you create something, it is copyrighted. You now have four exclusive rights:

1. Reproduce the copyrighted work;
2. Display the copyrighted work publicly;
3. Prepare derivative works based on the copyrighted work; and
4. Distribute copies of the copyrighted work to the public by sale, rental or lending, and/or to display the image.

• Here is what copyright law states:

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.

• Many images are licensed. For example, images on iStockPhoto or Flickr Creative Commons are licensed and are not subject to fair use. For commercial sites such as iStockPhoto, you buy a license to use a photo.
• In classroom projects, it is fine to search for images on the Internet.
• First, try to determine if the image is licensed (not copyrighted…remember, almost everything is copyrighted). If it is licensed, such as a Creative Commons license, either use the image in accordance to the license or do not use is at all.
• If the image is not licensed, or your best guess is it is not licensed, use it according to the fair use regulations. Make sure to give credit to the creator if possible.
• The bottom line is, if you find a great picture on the Internet, chances are extremely good you can use it for educational purposes.