*Media Resources: Copyright Information

FAIR USE

Fair use is a doctrine of US Copyright Law, allowing for the limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the copyright holder. It permits legal, non-licensed citation or incorporation of copyrighted material in another creator's work using a 4-part balancing test. The tricky part about Fair Use is that the balancing test is subjective and open to interpretation.

The four factors judges consider are:

1. purpose and character of your use
2. nature of the copyrighted work
3. amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
4. effect of the use upon the potential market.

(Source: University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries.) 

Prof. Eric Faden of Bucknell University (fairly) compiled clips from Disney movies to create a video explaining Fair Use. Double-click the video to see it larger in You Tube.

(Source:  Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison libraries)

COPYRIGHT 

Do you ever wonder why:

•  iTunes charges you $1.29 per song?
• videos in You Tube of recent episodes of GLEE are quickly taken down?

COPYRIGHT!!! 

Copyright is a federal law that gives creators of media the exclusive rights to copy, distribute, and mash up the things they create for a limited time.  As you work on any assignment that includes digital media (e.g., images, video, or music) it is good practice to make sure you are abiding by copyright laws. 

• Fair Use
  From Stanford University Libraires - a thorough explanation of fair use. Contains summaries of court cases including audiovisual, music and art. 
• Fair Use Checklist
  From  Columbia University Libraries - a tool to  help you assess your project and fair use. 
• Fair Use Evaluator
  Helps you better understand how to determine the "fairness" of a use under the U.S. Copyright Code. 
• YouTube Explained
  Overview of the Google video sharing site. (about.com)
• Open Attribute: Give Credit Where Credit Is Due
• A suite of tools that makes it simple for anyone to copy and paste the correct attribution for any Creative Commons licensed work.
• Code for Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
  From the Center for Social Media, School of Communication, American University
• Documentary Filmmakers' Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use
  Documentary Filmmakers have created an easy to understand guide to fair use and reasonable practices to it.  
• Fair Use Principles for User Generated Video Content 
  From the Electronic Frontier Foundation

 Check out some more links of interest from a more detailed copyright guide.