Copyright


 * What is copyright? **
 * Copyright grants an author or creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, or display their protected work. Unless you have the creator’s permission you may not use, copy, or alter the work. A copyright gives the author or creator the right to control all forms of reproduction, including photocopies, slides, and all recordings on cassettes, videotapes, compact disks, and other digital formats. **


 * When may a copyrighted work be used? **
 * If a work belongs to the public as a whole it is called public domain and may be used. This includes government documents and works, works with an expired copyright or no existing protection, and works published over 75 years ago. If the copyright owner grants permission or if a legal exception has been made, such as in parody, you may use a copyrighted work. Fair use of copyrighted materials is allowable for educational purposes according to certain restrictions. **


 * Copyright free music **
 * Copyleft and Creative Commons-licensed music is available online. With this music and video you may use as much or as little from the sites listed as you want to, but you MUST be sure to cite your source! Read each site's "Terms of Use" if you have questions about how to use their music. There are also a couple copyrighted music sites listed ... be sure to follow Fair Use if you use music from those sites! **

**Fair Use guidelines are rules (called exemptions) that make it acceptable for students and teachers to use copyrighted material in certain situations. Copyright law provides four standards to determine fair use: purpose of use, nature of the work, proportion/extent of the material used, and effect on marketability. All four standards must be met when copying for educational purposes. **
 * What is Fair Use? **

Check out the following links for more information regarding copyright laws. [|Fair Use Pyramid] [|Digital Citizenship Teacher Resources] [|Copyright Tutorial] [|US Copyright Office] [|Copyright and Fair Use Chart for Teachers]
 * More info **