important for students living and interacting online to have a clear
understanding of the legal issues involved in copying and redistributing the
work of others. Some key concepts worth reiterating here
include:
The creator of an original work—whether a student
or a professional artist—automatically owns all rights to its use, with certain
exceptions, including the exception for "fair use."
Fair
use allows people to use copyrighted materials, without paying or getting
special permission, if they are using the materials for the purpose of
education, review, satire, or journalism, and are taking into consideration the
following criteria:
the purpose and character of the use,
including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted
work;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in
relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the
effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted
work.
Barring some drastic redefinition or legal
precedent, fair use does not apply to educational materials posted on the public
Internet for others to access and redistribute at will.
The copyright holder can always choose to grant to others some or all rights to
their work.
