"Copyright 101"

The article, "Copyright 101," educates teachers of their rights and responsibilities when using copyrighted material. The author starts out by giving the reasoning behind the use of copyright and why it is important to abide by the rules when using copyrighted material. Ms. Thompson presents an explanation of "fair use". She explains that teachers are free to use "fair use" works if they are using them for teaching, scholarship, or research. Thompson also explains the way the court determines whether "fair use" applies to a work. There are four main factors when deciding if "fair use" is applicable. The court will decide whether the work was used for commercial or nonprofit purposes. They will determine if the work is fact-based or highly creative. Finally, it will decide whether the amount of work used will have an effect on the open market. Thompson also explains public domain. A work that qualifies for public domain is one in which either the copyright has expired or the work is created by the federal government.

Reference:
Thompson, K. (2005). Copyright 101. Learning & Leading with Technology (Vol. 32 No 7). Retrieved February 7, 2010, fromhttp://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=sites&srcid=ZGVmYXVsdGRvbWFpbnxjd3UzMTZlZHRlY2h8Z3g6MTU4YTI5NDFlZmU0M2FiYw