The first copyright law was enacted in 1790 to encourage the advancement of science and creativity. According to that law individuals had to apply for copyright protection and the term of copyright was 14 years, plus a possible 14 year renewal.
The Copyright Law of 1976 provides for immediate protection of work that is a)original, b) creative to a minimal degree, and c) in a fixed or tangible form. The term of copyright was the life of the author plus 50 years.
The Digital Millennium Act of 1998 extended the terms of copyright to life of author plus 70 years. In 2001 the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act was passed and relates to distance education.
Creative Commons (founded in 2001) provides a way for individuals to protect their work, but also encourage certain uses of them. They provide various license possibilities some with “some rights reserved” and some with “no rights reserved” and provide an easy way to add the html code to a web site. Photos on Flickr often display the CC symbols.
Fair Use is part 107 of the Copyright Law and sets guidelines for allowing teachers and students to use copyrighted material legally depending on four factors:--purpose of use--nature of the work--amount used--effect on the market
WEB SITES
Copyright with Cyberbee
Fair(y) Use Tale
ARTICLES
Starr, L. (2006) "Copyright & Fair Use"
Davidson, H (2002) “The Educator’s Guide to Copyright and Fair Use"
"Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers" Chart
Things to Remember ....
*Work does not need to include a copyright symbol to be protected by copyright law. Original work that has a tangible form of expression is automatically copyrighted.
*Permission & Attribution - It is important to seek permission for educational use. Always provide proper attribution of the work of others whether materials is copyrighted or in the public domain.
PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is using the work of someone else in such a way that it appears as one’s original work.
Detection Tools
Turnitin
- Article: "Teaching academic integrity at Broad Run High School"
- Article: "Judge rules that Turnitin does not violate students copyrights" (J. Oleck, 3/2008)
EVE2 (Essay Verification Engine)
MyDropBox.com
updated 4/10ls
