Student Resources
Copyright and plagiarism are two very important terms. The following is a collection of resources to assist students with both terms, including how to cite resources, copyright law, and other relevant websites.
Copyright
"To promote the progress of science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right ....."
Plagiarism
"Using another person’s work without giving credit - tantamount to stealing"
Copyright
Articles
Copyright and Fair Use (Stanford University) - focus on digital environment
Marie A. D'Amico's Cyberspace Law - encompasses music, domain names, patents & trademarks, Internet, privacy, e-mail
Basics
Copyright owner's exclusive rights:
Intellectual property and copyright are partners; copyright automatically
protects intellectual property. Under the 1976 Copyright Law-which
is our current mandate with some updates-the purpose was to encourage
and stimulate as many creative and scientific works as possible
as an overall 'good' for society. The economic reward was the exclusive
rights to the creative work for a limited period of time.
Section 106 of the 1976 U.S. Copyright Act grants the copyright
owner exclusive rights in the following areas:
- Reproduction-The right to reproduce the work.
- Adaptation-The right to create and produce derivative works
based on the original piece.
- Distribution-The right to distribute copies.
- Performance-The right to perform the work publicly.
- Display-The right to display and transmit the work publicly.
The limiting parts in these granted rights depends on various
factors, such as when the work was created, published, or if
there is existing copyright. There is no longer a requirement to
apply for copyright registration,
but it is in the best interests of the creator who wants full protection
of the law against illegal infringement.
The Internet has been characterized as the most significant threat
to copyright since the 1976 law was enacted. The Internet is a vast
storehouse of information containing varying options of use: free
or public domain, by permission or not, by citing, or by Fair Use.
Most everything on the Net is protected by copyright: novels, articles,
screenplays, graphics, pictures, photographs, software, news articles,
databases, and e-mail.
Copyright applies only to "original works of authorship" that are
"fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Exceptions to this
are ideas, known facts and government information.
Fair Use:
The law broadly defines copyright protection and then provides a
number of exceptions to the copyright owners' exclusive rights.
The best known exception is 'fair use.' There are four factors to
be considered in a 'fair use' analysis in making a determination
of what constitutes 'fair use':
- Purpose and Character of Use-Is it of a commercial nature or
for nonprofit educational purposes?
- Nature of Copyrighted Work-Is this worthy of copyright protection?
- Relative Amount-How much and of what quality or importance was
copied?
- Effect Upon Potential Market-What is the extent of harm to the
market of the original work caused by the infringement?
The last factor is the one most often cited as the most important
factor in determining 'fair use'-and that is because it involves
money. Has it harmed or weakened the marketability of the work?
The legal boundary between what is considered 'fair use' and infringement
is often blurred and subjective.
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Public Domain
Web sites - comprehensive
- Copyright and Art Issues
(University of Oregon) - guidelines, policies, useful Web sites
- Copyright Clearance Center - permissions
& licensing services
- Cyberlaw Encyclopedia (Alan Gahtan,
LLP) - copyright law including articles, cases, organizations,
treaties, and more...
- Franklin Pierce Law Center
- indepth copyright, patent / trademark information site
- Government
Document Pamphlets and Brochures (University of Buffalo) -
includes registrations and other information
- The Copyright WebSite (Benedict Mahoney) encompasses
the basics, visual arts, digital arts, audio arts and more...
- Using Software:
A Guide to the Ethical and Legal Use of... (EDUCOM & ITAA)
- as it applies to academia
Copyright Law
Digital Millennium Copyright Act:
Full-text of law:
Teach Act
Copyright History
Overview of U.S. copyright
law from 1790-1996 - (Association of Research Libraries) - also
contains summaries from major court cases of interest to academia.
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Patents and
Trademarks
Definitions:
Patent - is a grant of a property right to an invention by
the government to the inventor thru the Patent and Trademark Office-maximum
grant is 20 years. The inventor holds the right to exclude others
from making or using, offering for sale or importing the invention.
Trademark - is concerned with a name, word, symbol, or type
of device that indicates a source of goods or services and that
distinguishes them from others' goods and services. A trademark
is not a trade name*
Searching Patents & Trademarks
Policies
Tutorials
Exercises
- Copyright Bay (University
of St. Francis) - visual tutorial on understanding copyright
- Fair Use Harbor
(University of St. Francis) - tutorials & quizzes
Self-Testing
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Plagiarism
Articles
Basics
Citation Formats
- Citation Styles Online
(Bedford/St.Martins) - information on MLA, APA, Chicago, CBE citation
styles
- Wallace's APA & MLA citation
style - includes online how to guides, streamed PowerPoint tutorials,
& other citation links
Tutorials/Self-testing Exercises
Writing Resources
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Maintained by: Marianne Buehler
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