Copyright Basics
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| Image property of author |
We’ve all heard of Copyrights and Fair Use. But have you ever wondered what a copyright is? How it came to be? Who’s allowed to obtain a copyright and who are the gatekeepers that decide this? Currently, I’m in my final year of my graduate program in Library and Information Science. The concept of copyright and fair use has been presented in all of my courses thus far and the importance of it in any industry. For librarians, archivists, and professionals in the information science field, this concept must always be in the forefront of their minds when gathering, storing, and disseminating information. As you’ll recall in my introductory post, Proud Millennial, I hope to become a cataloging librarian and/or a digital asset manager—two professions that required a strong grasp of copyright and fair use. This led me to do a deep dive into the subject as I will be obtaining my degree and entering the profession(s) in less than a year.
So,
what exactly is copyright and 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.” (U.S. Copyright Office)
o
Examples
of works with copyrights (Rittenberg, 2023)
§
Literary
works
§
Performing
arts
§
Visual
arts
§
Motion
pictures
§
Photographs
§
“Other
digital content,” such as computer programs, apps and databases
·
Fair
Use: “. . . a fair use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a
limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or
parody a copyrighted work. Such uses can be done without permission from the
copyright owner” (Richard Stim, 2021).
o Examples
§ quoting a few lines from a Bob
Dylan song in a music review
§ summarizing and quoting from a
medical article on prostate cancer in a news report. (Richard Stim, 2021)
In
other words, copyright helps owners lay claim on their original work, while
fair use creates parameters around how the original works can be used. But who
are these copyright owners and who are the users? According to the U.S. Copyright
Office “Everyone is a copyright owner. . . [and] we are all . . . copyright
users.” Meaning everyone has a right to protection of their work and how others
use it.
Not
abiding by copyright and fair use laws can have serious consequences, such as
being charged with copyright infringement. Copyright infringement occurs when one
uses a work that is not fair use and/or does not have permission from the owner.
Some examples include using images or photographs without permission, using
branded assets to create websites mimicking the legitimate brand, or pretending
to be a business or executive on social media ((Copyright Infringement
Examples: Lessons to Help You Protect Your Business, 2023).
As with
all laws, there are some exceptions to the rule. For instance, libraries have
the right to gather, consume and distribute works without owner permission or
when fair use applies. “Congress recognized that libraries are sites of
learning, where protected content will be continually available, distributed,
used, and preserved to further knowledge, fostering the Constitutional purpose
of the law “to advance the progress of science and the useful arts” to benefit
the public” (American Library Association). I believe that that’s logic that
all copyright owners can agree with, if there ever is a time when their work is
used without their say so.
Understanding copyright and fair use laws is especially necessary in today’s digital world as people from all walks of life and professions are using content in new ways. The changes in our way of life and research leads to new interpretations of the law and how it is applied in different situations (American Library Association). One thing that will always remain true no matter how much our world changes is that in this capitalist society, it’s important that people are recognized and compensated for their original works. The Copyright act helps protect theft of original works so that only the owner receives the benefits and can choose who can have access to them. This is more pertinent now than it has ever been given this terrible recession we are experiencing. People are getting desperate for money and will steal to get it. This is evident in the news stories I see daily about a theft(s) somewhere in Chicago. While different than copyright infringement, the principle is the same.
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| Image property of author Larger view |
References
American Library Association.
(n.d.). Copyright. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright
Copyright and fair use. (n.d.). Office of the General
Counsel. https://ogc.harvard.edu/pages/copyright-and-fair-use
Copyright Infringement Examples:
Lessons to help you protect your business. (2023, July 13). Bolster. https://bolster.ai/blog/copyright-infringement-examples-2
Guides: Copyright: Fair Use and
TEACH Act. (n.d.).
https://musc.libguides.com/c.php?g=436232&p=2974952#loaded
U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.-a). Timeline
| U.S. Copyright Office. https://www.copyright.gov/timeline/
U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.-b). What
is Copyright? | U.S. Copyright Office. https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/
Rittenberg, J. (2023, June 22). What
is Copyright? Everything You Need to Know. Forbes Advisor. https://www.forbes.com/advisor/business/what-is-copyright/
Stim, R. (2021, November 25). What
is fair use? Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center. https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/what-is-fair-use/
Hi Joseline, thank you for your post. I appreciate your insights on this topic as Copyright and Fair Use is usually a grey area for most people. A few years ago, a student I was working with had Covid and was out for several days. The admin had me doing random tasks for them. One of them was scanning a textbook. Not really understanding why, I did it. On and off for 3 days I scanned chapter after chapter. Then later I had to spiral bound pages together. I realized it was the book I had copied, and someone had made copies. I asked what the books were for, and the assistant principal told me it was for the EL cohort. They bought one book and made copies for everyone in the course, all 11 on them! Eek! I'm sure it wasn't legal but did what they asked me too. I still feel guilty about doing it.
ReplyDeleteYikes! Yes that sounds terrible. I don't think you should feel guilty though. It was the responsibility of your superiors to be aware of and follow copyright laws. And yes I agree, copyright and fair use is definitely a grey area considering the fact that in certain situations, it is up to the interpretation of the judicial branch to decide if the law was broken.
DeleteThank you for the condensed summary of what to keep in mind when thinking about copyright and fair use, Alisha.
ReplyDeleteHi Alisha,
ReplyDeleteCopyright is such a complicated and nuanced subject, and I think you did a great job providing an introduction to the topic. I like how straightforward and easy to read your infographic is and your emphasis on Fair Use; as educators, it is such a valuable concept to be familiar with. I worked in rights & reproductions at a museum, and my favorite requests were always from educators because we were able to provide them with high-resolution images and permissions for educational use at no cost. That felt really good when so much of my work was trying to negotiate license fees with independent researchers. As an aside- I really like that you directly invite your readers to participate in the comments section!
Thanks so much! And yes Copyright Laws are definitely something that could be studied for years and it would still feel like you only have a 50-80% grasp on it :). But seriously, that's awesome that you work in rights & reproductions at a museum. When I first started the MLIS program, my focus was museum archives. That's changed over the course of these few years. But a career in museum archives is always something I will consider.
Delete