CCCS Faculty Toolkit

What is Copyright & Fair Use?

Copyright

"Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. Once you create an original work and fix it, like taking a photograph, writing a poem or blog, or recording a new song, you are the author and the owner." source: US Copyright Office

Fair Use

"Fair Use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works" under the consideration of certain factors. 'Courts evaluate fair use claims on a case-by-case basis", and there is no formula or test to determine fair use. Four factors are used when determining Fair Use:

    ~ Purpose and character of the use

    ~ Nature of the copyrighted work

    ~ Amount and substantiality of the portion used

    ~ Effect on potential market/value of the copyrighted work

                                 Balanced scale of Justice from Wikimedia Commons; icons from Icons8. 

Additional Resources

Fair Use Checklist - created by Colombia University Libraries; link to PDF

Copyright Tutorial - by BYU University (approx. 30 minutes)

The Public Domain

"Public Domain" is the term used to refer to creative works not protected by any copyright, creative commons, patent, or trademark license. Works in the Public Domain are free to use, modify, and redistribute without permission. Four common ways works arrive in the public domain:

• the copyright has expired
• the copyright owner failed to follow copyright renewal rules
• the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain
• copyright law does not protect this type of work

Adapted from "Welcome to the Public Domain" by Stanford Libraries, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.