A (hopefully) easy to understand guide to using copyrighted work in the classroom

 All may be fair in love and war, but not copyrights!

When creating a presentation or a lesson plan you don't just want to use words... you want to use images and video clips to capture the student's attention. Thanks to the internet and their wonderful choices of search engines, you can find all sorts of images and videos to enhance your presentation. However, just because it is on the internet doesn't necessarily mean that you can use it freely.

 

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What does copyright mean? 

 

Copyrights are what the name implies... the creator's rights to protect their work from unlawful sharing. In the US, these published and unpublished works are automatically protected by US Copyright Laws. According to the U.S. Copyright Office, everyone is a copyright owner. Once you post a picture or create a song or poem, artwork, etc. your rights as a creator are protected. 

Although anyone can be a copyright owner, this also means anyone can be a copyright user. When you find an image on Google, and you want to use it in your presentation it doesn't mean that you should. There are three routes you can consider when choosing a creator's intellectual property: Fair Use, Public Domain, and Creative Commons.

 

First, we will start with Fair Use. Here is a simple breakdown of its purposes:

 

 

Image Source: Personal Image

What is "Fair Use"?

 

Fair Use is when you copy a copyrighted work for a transformative, educational, or non-profit purpose.

 

What are transformative purposes?

Transformative purposes refers to utilizing a copyrighted work in a different manner or purpose from the original that does not infringe on the creator's copyright.

There are two categories of transformative purposes:

 

1. Commentary and criticism - using excerpts, quotes, and examples for analysis or review. 

Example: book reviews, class worksheets, etc.

2. Parody - mocks or ridicules the original work for comedic purposes. 

 

Example: Spaceballs (1987) is a parody of the Star Wars franchise owned by Lucasfilm Limited.

 

As a teacher how does this effect you?

 

Here is a simple breakdown of what is allowed and not allowed in the classroom:

 

 

Image Source: Personal Image

 

REMINDER: these rules only apply to copyrighted works, if you are interested in free and non-restrictive options, you can choose works from the public domain and creative commons.
 

 

What is Public Domain?

 

A copyright lasts the whole life of the creator plus another 70 years. So after that it is available to the public, and there is no risk of copyright infringement. 

Where can I find public domain examples?

Project Gutenberg - a digital library of over 70,000 free eBooks which have their US copyright expired. 

How does this effect you as a teacher?

It doesn't! Public domain means it is free to the public for any use. So if you want to quote Shakespeare or use an excerpt from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, you are free to do so without any restrictions.

Just to clarify... The original work, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) is in public domain, but if you want to use images or examples from the Disney movie Alice in Wonderland (2010), you will have to follow the fair use guidelines.

What are Creative Commons?

 

So far we have works that can be protected by fair use or they are in public domain. What about the creators that allow their work to be used? That is where the Creative Commons comes into play. However, it is not as simple as that... the creators can choose between 6 licenses for their works which can make them more restrictive. The picture below breaks down the different types of licenses a creator can choose:

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There is also a "Creative Commons Zero" which is similar to public domain except the creator is still alive and has granted permission for free use without any restrictions.

Where can I find images from creative commons?

Here are some websites where the content is part of the creative commons realm:

1. Unsplash - this is a database with images you can use freely within the creative commons rules.
2. New Old Stock - this is a database of vintage photos from public archives and are free from copyright restrictions.

3. PxHere - this is a database of free images under the Creative Commons Zero rule.

 

Still have questions? This video from Copyright & Creativity can help answer those questions. It is a great source for educators and librarians. 

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Moral of the story?

When you use an example from someone else's work, make sure to credit them 😁