A presentation on copyright for journalism students, based extensively on the Student Press Law Center's "Student Media Guide to Copyright Law." http://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32 I usually split this presentation across two class sessions, slides 1-30 one day, 31-42 the next.

1. Copyright for Journalism Students

2. Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, much less an expert
in copyright law. This presenta?on draws extensively
from the Student Press Law Center’s
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

3. What do you think?
• Can Drake Magazine download images of book jackets
from Amazon to include with book reviews?
• Can the Times‐Delphic download an image of a
presiden?al candidate to accompany a news ar?cle?
• Can you use a company’s logo in your J70 blog post?
• Can Think online use a New York Times photograph?
• Can Duin create a parody of Newsweek called
Newsweak?
• Can DrakeMag.com post music videos on its site?
• Can Urban Plains create an ad for its site that includes
a picture of an iPad?

4. What is copyright?
• Authors, ar?sts have exclusive right to benefit
from their crea?ons
• Protected by federal law
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

5. What does copyright protect?
• It protects:
– Literary works
– Sound recordings
– Works of art
– Musical composi?ons
– Computer programs
– Architectural works
• Work must be original
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

6. What can’t be copyrighted?
• Slogans (“Just do it”)
• Titles
• Names
• Words and short phrases
• Instruc?ons
• Familiar symbols, designs
• Facts, ideas
• U.S. government work
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

8. Who owns a copyright?
• Generally, the creator of the work
• “Work‐for‐hire” excep?on
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

9. How long does a copyright last?
• Anything created before 1923 is in “public
domain”
• For works created aaer 1973, copyright
expires 95 years aaer publica?on or 120 years
from crea?on, whichever comes first
Work is protected by copyright as
soon as it’s created
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

10. Work is protected by copyright
as soon as it’s created

11. Work is protected by copyright
as soon as it’s created

12. How long does a copyright last?
• Work is protected by copyright as soon as it’s
created
• It doesn’t need the © 2006 by ______
• It doesn’t need to say “copyright by ___” or
“all rights reserved”
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

13. In other words…
… most everything you’ll want to
use is copyrighted.
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/
legalresearch.asp?id=32

14. Geeng permission
Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator
is not enough!
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

15. Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator
is not enough!

16. Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator
is not enough!

17. Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator
is not enough!

18. Got it?
Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator
is not enough!

19. Geeng permission
• Simply credi3ng the ar3st or creator is not
enough!
– Don’t use “courtesy of” if the courtesy hasn’t
been formally extended to you
• Explicit permission is required.
• Start early (months ahead, not days or weeks)

20. The Big Excep?on:
FAIR USE
“Fair use” allows limited use of copyrighted material
without permission.

21. FAIR USE
is a gray area

22. In plain English, please?
You may use
limited amounts of
copyrighted works
for news repor3ng and
educa3on
so long as its use does not
destroy the commercial
value of the work.
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

23. *
No, really, this is important .
* It’ll be on the test

24. In plain English, please?
You may use
limited amounts of
copyrighted works
for news repor3ng and
educa3on
so long as its use does not
destroy the commercial
value of the work.
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

25. In legalese: Fair use: Four factors
1. Purpose, character of use.
– News repor?ng, teaching, cri?cism, commentary
likely to be “fair use”
2. Nature of copyrighted work.
– Factual material (maps, biographies) more likely
to be “fair use” than highly crea?ve, original
works (cartoons, novels)
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

26. Fair use? Four factors
3. How much of original work is used
– You may use no more than what is necessary
4. Effect of use on commercial value of
copyrighted work
– Most important factor
– If consumers are likely to buy the use as
subs?tute for original, not fair use
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

27. What about slogans, symbols?
• Intellectual Property Law:
– Copyright protects crea?ve works.
– Patents protect inven?ons.
– Trademarks protect symbols, slogans that iden?fy
businesses to their customers.
• It’s OK to use trademarks when repor?ng
about a company

28. What about the Web?
• Yes, copyright law applies to the Web!
– Images, documents, source code, music, podcasts,
ar?cles, videos, etc.
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

29. Online publishing guidelines
• Ignorance of copyright law is no excuse
• What is the purpose of your site?
– News, educa?on = fair use
– Other purposes ≠ fair use
• Publish excerpts, not en?re ar?cles
– Quote briefly, properly aHribute, link to source
• Copyright is violated by using informa?on,
not by charging for it
• Freeware does not belong to you
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

30. Online publishing guidelines
• Assume everything is copyrighted
• Give proper credit
– Photographs, ar?cles, etc.
– Link to original source
– When appropriate, let creator know you used it;
thank him/her
• To protect your own content:
– © 2011 by [your name]
Source: Student Press Law Center
“Student Media Guide to Copyright Law”
hHp://www.splc.org/knowyourrights/legalresearch.asp?id=32

31. Where can I find images I can use?
• Free stock, or royalty‐free, photos
– Stock.xchng
– istockphoto.com
– Digital Image Magazine’s
“25 Free Stock Photo Sites”
– Crea3ve Commons

32. Crea?ve Commons
• “Crea?ve Commons is a nonprofit corpora?on
dedicated to making it easier for people to
share and build upon the work of others,
consistent with the rules of copyright.”

33. The licenses
ABribu3on by: You let others copy,
distribute, display, and perform your
copyrighted work — and deriva?ve
works based upon it — but only if
they give credit the way you request.

34. The licenses
Share alike: You allow others to
distribute deriva?ve works only
under a license iden?cal to the
license that governs your work.

35. The licenses
Non‐commercial: You let others
copy, distribute, display, and perform
your work — and deriva?ve works
based upon it — but for non‐
commercial purposes only.

36. The licenses
No deriva3ve works: You let others
copy, distribute, display, and perform
only verba?m copies of your work,
not deriva?ve works based upon it.