Blog 3

Copyright Symbol

According to the UMUC Library, "Copyright is a legal device that provides the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used." By having copyright an author will feel more incentive to create new ideas since their work is protected. There are three requirements to get something copyrighted: fixation, originality, and minimal creativity. Fixation is where the document is, meaning written, on a computer, audio, it just needs to be somewhere. Originality is that the work must be original. Minimal creativity is that the work must be above and beyond original. Some things that cannot be copyrighted are ideas, facts, slogans, short phrases, and government works. Copyright protects the authors work. 

Fair use, "Is the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights" (UMUC, 2011). The purpose and character of fair use is to make sure that the piece of work is not just a copy, does the work transform the old work in some way? and is it for educational purposes? The nature of the copyrighted work is if it is unpublished or published, if the copyrighted work is out of print, and if the work is factual or artistic.

 Permissible amounts of copyrighted information must meet tests for brevity and spontaneity. Brevity is how much of the work you can copy. Spontaneity is, “How many times you can copy and how much planning it would take to otherwise seek and obtain permission from a copyright holder” (UMUC, 2011). What counts as fair use is a chapter from a book, an article from a newspaper, a short story, poem, or illustrations. Some things that should be avoided is copying the same worst from semester to semester, special works, an excerpt of no more than 2 pages. 

UMUC Library. (2011). Copyright and fair use in the UMUC online or face-to-face classroom.
         University of Maryland University College. Retrieved from             http://sites.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm