Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons, Public Domain

Copyright

The term copyright refers to rights that authors, artists, and other creators have to protect their own works.  Creators are given exclusive rights to

• reproduce or copy their works or authorize another party to do so.
• distribute their works or copies of them or authorize another party to do so.
• publicly perform or display their work or authorize another party to do so.
• create derivative works or authorize another party to do so.
  • Derivative works are those that are created "by changing and already existing work" (Butler, 2004, p.6).  The change can be either slight or extensive.
    • For example, an author of a novel has the right to determine whether the characters she created can be used in another story or context.
• digitally transmit their works or authorize another party to do so.

For a work to be copyrighted, it must be "fixed" in a "tangible medium."  That means it needs to be set in a form and a format that can allow it to be accessed directly by other people or "by a machine or device such as a computer or projector" (Crews, 2012, p. 11).

Butler, R. P.  (2004).  Copyright for teachers and librarians.  New York: Neal-Shuman.

Crews, K. D.  (2012).  Copyright for librarians and educators: Creative strategies & practical solutions.  Chicago: ALA.

Below are several sources for learning more about copyright.