What is Copyright?

What is “Copyright”? What is “Fair Use”? To all, these words are a meaning of protection. Ironically, one represents the law and the other is debatable under the law. Copyright.com best defines copyright in the United States as “a form of protection provided by the government to the authors of ‘original works of authorship, including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works.’ This protection is available to both published and unpublished works, regardless of the nationality or domicile of the author” (Copyright Education 2011). The website continues on to say that “fair use is a uniquely U.S. concept, created by judges and enshrined in the law. Fair use recognizes that certain types of use of other people's copyright protected works do not require the copyright holder's authorization” (Copyright Education 2011). Though there are four basic principles (which will be discussed later) that keep fair use “in check,” it is still in somewhat of a gray area—relying on the will of a judge (should an allegation lead to court) to determine whether or not copyright infringement is being committed. This is why it is important to know, as a teacher, what copyright infringement constitutes and how to be as sure as possible that one is within the realm of fair use.

As every teacher knows, sticking to “what’s in the textbook” may not always be the desired path for instruction, but it is probably the safest. Textbooks are purchased by each state’s Board of Education, and each district within that state chooses from the list of acceptable textbooks that the board permits to be taught. Therefore, each textbook in every classroom, though it is copyrighted, is purchased—making it eligible to be taught in its entire...

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...tries offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions that have been greatly simplified by international copyright treaties and conventions” (International Copyright 2010). Perhaps foreign creations are another area to consider when looking to incorporate copyrighted material into the classroom.

So what really is safe for teachers to use? Essentially, teachers are left with this notion: textbooks and public domain appear to be the only truly “safe” routes for incorporating copyrighted material into non-profit classroom-use lesson planning without raising any eyebrows. This is not to say that curiosity should be curbed. If a teacher is interested in using a copyrighted material not purchased by the state or granted permission by the copyright holder, then he or she should look into whether or not they can obtain permission for non-profit classroom use.