Can I use this?

A brief guide to fair use for the student journalist

Fair useA few things to know

All copyright law is federal This means that a law will apply the same

throughout the U.S.

Fair useWhat is the intent of the law?

The idea is to encourage creativity by protecting intellectual property and protect a person’s ability to make a profit from his/her intellectual work

The intent is not to stifle creativity, but to foster it

Fair useWhat does copyright protect?

Any original work of authorship put in some tangible form

Fixation (being saved) is a vital compnent

Fair useWhat does copyright not protect?

Facts In news, the info is not the issue; it’s the

expression Titles of works Short phrases (although these can be trademark

protected)

Shepard Fairy

Fair useA few things to know

Copyright status (notice) is not required Simply attributing source is not enough; you must

obtain permission Copyright law does not specify percentage or time

Fair useWhen does a work become part of the public

domain? Passage of time

75 years after the death of the creator Creator chooses to put it there

Fair UseFour Criteria

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes

2. The nature of the copyrighted work3. The amount and substantiality of the portion

used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole

4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

Fair useSo what can I use?• Use very small portion of a work• 29 secs or less has traditionally not been pursued for

song copyright infringement• Ask yourself if copyright holder a subject of the

coverage• State and federal websites have little right to

prosecute for copyright infringement• Movie posters OK if an article about the movie

ResourcesMaterial for designers/journalists• Creative commons.orgCopyright law• Student Press Law Center

– www.splc.org• U.S. Copyright Office fair use guidelines

– http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

Can I use this?

A brief guide to fair use for the student journalist