Copyright, Fair Use, and Permissible Amounts

According to University of Maryland University College website, copyright is a legal device that provides the creator of a work of art, literature, or piece of work that conveys information or ideas, and the right to control how it is used by others (Fishman, 2008, p.6). Anything that is tangible can be copyrighted such as pictures, books, videos, music, and articles are just a few examples. In order for something to be considered copyright, it cannot be common sense or general information that people know such as works in the public domain. Items that are copyright have to be original, creative, and fixated. Copyright protects the right to make copies, right to resale, right to prepare new work based on protected work, and the right to perform the protected work in public.

Fair use is the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights (United States Copyright Office, 2010, para. 1). There are four factors that a person who wants to use a copyright item has to think about which are the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and sustainability of the portion used, and the effect of use on the potential market for the copyright work. One of the rules for fair use instructions is that you cannot use something repeatedly without asking permission. Special works should not be copied in their entirety. It is best if you use your copyright source sparingly. Permission is needed when you use for commercial purposes, when you want to use it repeatedly, or when you want to use the entirety of it. It is best to always credit the source whether by author or organization. It is best to ask the copyright holder for permission before using it as a source. Fair use protects teachers in face to face environments when pictures are used.

Multimedia guidelines for students are that they may incorporate small portions of copyrighted materials in a presentation or project for a class. Faculty may also include portions of copyrighted material when creating their own multimedia project for their teaching curriculum. The fair use of copyrighted material for multimedia lasts for only 2 years. After 2 years, you must ask permission to continue to use it. When using motion media for fair use, one must use 10% of the total clip or 3 minutes, whichever is less. For text material fair use, one must use 10% of total or 1,000 words, whichever is less. For music, lyrics, or music video fair use, one must use 10% of the total but no more than 30 seconds. For illustrations or images, no more than 5 pictures, 10% of total collection, or 15 photos from collection, whichever is less. For numerical data sets, no more than 10% or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less. If you intend to use for commercial, duplicate, or redistribute then you need to get permission. These are just some general guidelines for copyright, fair use, and permissible amounts of multimedia. Overall, the safest way to use images or other multimedia is to take it or create it yourself to avoid the risk of breaking a copyright law.