This document discusses copyright rules and protections. It explains that copyright is a legal concept that gives creators exclusive rights over their work. Simply creating a work, such as writing or saving a digital file, is enough to trigger automatic copyright protection. There are exceptions for fair use and works in the public domain. Creators can also choose to use licenses like Creative Commons to allow certain uses of their work while still retaining copyright. The document provides guidance on understanding copyright and licensing rules when using or sharing others' creative works.

1. Understanding the rules

2. Copyright
It is a legal concept, enacted by most governments,
giving the creator exclusive rights to it.
Generally, it is “ the right to copy”, but also gives the
copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to
determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who
may perform the work, who may financially benefit from
it, and other related rights.

3. Your rights as a copyright owner
The Copyright Act gives all authors a set of rights that
only they may exercise. These include the right to
make copies, to prepare derivative works, to publicly
distribute, display and perform the work, and in the
case of digital sound recordings, to perform the works
over a digital network.

4. Copyright protection
Many people assume that everything posted on the
Internet is public domain, probably because our law used
to protect published works only if they displayed the
proper copyright notice upon publication. The law,
however, has changed: neither publication nor a notice of
any kind is required to protect works today. Simply putting
the pen to the paper or in the electronic medium, putting
the fingers to the save key creates a copyrighted work. Once
expression is committed to a tangible medium (and
computer media is considered tangible), copyright
protection is automatic. So, postings of all kinds are
protected the same as published printed works.

5. Implied and express licenses to use Internet
materials
You can easily give your works an express license by
attaching a Creative Commons license to the
materials you post on your Website, or upload to
other sites. It's easy and it sends the message that
you want your materials to be part of the flow of
creativity.

6. License design and rationale
using creative commons
All Creative Commons licenses have many important
features in common. Every license helps creators — we call
them licensors if they use our tools — retain copyright
while allowing others to copy, distribute, and make some
uses of their work — at least non-commercially. Every
Creative Commons license also ensures licensors get the
credit for their work they deserve. Every Creative
Commons license works around the world and lasts as long
as applicable copyright lasts (because they are built on
copyright). These common features serve as the baseline,
on top of which licensors can choose to grant additional
permissions when deciding how they want their work to be
used.

7. Liability for posting infringing works
The proliferation of RIAA lawsuits against individuals
for peer-to-peer file-sharing make clear that
individuals can be liable for their own actions when
they copy and distribute others' copyrighted works
without permission.

8. The role of fair use
 Fair use is the right, in some circumstances, to quote
copyrighted material without asking permission or paying
for it. Fair use enables the creation of new culture, and
keeps current copyright holders from being private censors.
With the Washington College of Law, the Center for Social
Media creates tools for creators, teachers, and researchers
to better use their fair use rights.
 Fair use plays a critical role in the analog world where
duplicating technology is cumbersome and authors make
money by controlling copies. It balances authors' rights to
reasonable compensation with the public's rights to the
ideas contained in copyrighted works.

9. Getting permission
Assuming the work you wish to use is protected, the
work has not been licensed for your use online, and
your use is not a fair use or otherwise exempt from
liability for infringement, you need permission.
Check the Copyright Clearance Center ("CCC") first.
If the work you want to use is registered with the CCC,
you can get permission instantly for most materials. If
your institution subscribes to the academic license and
your work is covered, you don't have to do anything --
your use is covered.

10. Mass Digitization of Library
Collections is revealing a treasure trove of heretofor
obscured works, works in the public domain that can
be shared broadly with the public, and orphan works,
those still protected, but whose copyright owners are
unknown, unable to be located, or unresponsive. The
potential these works hold puts pressure on copyright
law and policy to adapt more quickly to new
possibilities in a digital networked environment.

11. Mass Digitization
Libraries, museums and archives are carrying out
small, medium and massive digitization projects and
providing public access to the resulting digital
collections. Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Microsoft,
among others, are partnering with cultural institutions
to increase the pace at which these collections are
brought to the public.

12. The public domain and orphan works
 Orphan Works are those books, records, images,
compositions, manuscripts, movies, screenplays, painting
and drawings, in short, any work protected by copyright
whose owner cannot be determined or located or who does
not respond when contacted.
 Public Domain is considered if a work is published without
proper notice (name of publisher and date) during certain
time frames (1923-1989), it becomes part of the public
domain. If it is not published, or if it is published after 1989
without indication of the author is, its protection is
automatic and lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years
in the U.S. (and longer in some countries).

13. Conclusion
When you use others’ creative expressions, set
time aside to understand copyrights and licenses
rules that are linked to their original creation.

14. End notes
The Copyright Crash Course © 2001, 2007 Georgia K. Harper
Copyright definition - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright

15. Alfredo Alvarado ppt_EDTC6340 by Alfredo Alvarado is licensed
under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.
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