CCCS Faculty Toolkit

Copyright and plagiarism are similar concepts but they are different in application. You can infringe on a copyright without plagiarizing and plagiarize without infringing on a copyright. For example if you copied parts of a work in the public domain and submitted it as your assignment without credit, you're not infringing on a copyright, but you are still plagiarizing. 

Students need to know:

1. The papers you write, the works you create all copyrighted to you. You own your works and your permission is required for another person to display them.
2. The way you use others' works is primarily going to fall under plagiarism guidelines versus copyright issues, be sure to cite your sources correctly and don't use too much information from one source.

Copyright issues can be complicated! This guide is meant to inform you of common issues surrounding copyright, but it is not legal advice.