Information from ikeepsafe.org
Using Creative Content in Student Projects
Often when we assign a project to students, we want them to use images, video, graphics, songs, or other copyrighted work in the assignment. We want you, and your students, to understand what’s legal so you can feel confident as you help students explore their creativity and make new and engaging art— music, movies, photos, video games, etc.
Here are a few guidelines:
If you are using a copyrighted work for teaching or for a school project, it’s almost always allowed. For example:
If you want to make your work public, you’ll need to do a fair use analysis to determine if you have a fair use:
Purpose & Character
As we teach about using others’ creative work and intellectual property, it’s important to also emphasize that often students should use their own work. ASK: “Do you really need to use this, or could you accomplish your task just as well with your own creativity: photo, drawing, art, poem, song, etc.?
NOTE: YouTube has worked out a licensing agreement with many of the song owners in the recording industry whose music gets posted there. Although publicly posting someone else’s work could be an infringement of their copyright, most recording artists choose rather to “monetize” the video, rather than have it taken down from the site. When you post a video with a copyright protected song to YouTube, the artist/owner may choose to leave it up and “monetize” it. If YouTube does not have an agreement with the artist, your video may be taken down for copyright infringement.
Here are a few guidelines:
If you are using a copyrighted work for teaching or for a school project, it’s almost always allowed. For example:
- Pictures and graphics for a book report to show the cover of the book, images of the city or country of the book’s setting, or artist’s renditions of the book and/or characters.
- Images and music for a slideshow to teach a history topic.
- Video clips or whole movies (depending on the use) to help you teach an important concept.
If you want to make your work public, you’ll need to do a fair use analysis to determine if you have a fair use:
Purpose & Character
- Is the new work transformative because it adds new expression to the original—like creating a parody—or because it uses the original in a new way or for a new purpose, like for teaching?
- Is it highly creative or just a bunch of facts?
- Did you use only what was necessary for your purpose? Did you use more than was necessary? Did you take the heart of the thing?
- Could your use substitute for the original in the marketplace?
As we teach about using others’ creative work and intellectual property, it’s important to also emphasize that often students should use their own work. ASK: “Do you really need to use this, or could you accomplish your task just as well with your own creativity: photo, drawing, art, poem, song, etc.?
NOTE: YouTube has worked out a licensing agreement with many of the song owners in the recording industry whose music gets posted there. Although publicly posting someone else’s work could be an infringement of their copyright, most recording artists choose rather to “monetize” the video, rather than have it taken down from the site. When you post a video with a copyright protected song to YouTube, the artist/owner may choose to leave it up and “monetize” it. If YouTube does not have an agreement with the artist, your video may be taken down for copyright infringement.
CopyrightWhen you create something original and tangible such as a drawing, original writing, photograph, song lyrics and music, or even a computer program, you are the copyright owner. Copyright is a limited protection given to writers and artists, and it helps them receive payment for their work. The goal of copyright is to inspire more creative work.
Copyright includes a set of rights. These rights let the creator of a work decide how others can use that work. When you make something, you get to decide who can use their work in these ways:
A creative work is original writing, art, photographs, audio, images, music scores, song lyrics, sound recording or even specific dance steps of a ballet. All of those can be copyrighted. NOTE: All original, tangible art is copyrighted whether or not there is a copyright symbol. The copyright symbol is sometimes used, but is not necessary to protect the artist or writer’s ownership rights. |
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Creative CommonsCreative Commons is a nonprofit organization that provides copyright licenses allowing artists to communicate with the public about how a work can be used or shared. For example, the work can be shared with attribution. Or, altered with attribution.
NOTE: Creative Commons does not replace copyright. Creative commons licenses work with copyright. For more information see: http://us.creativecommons.org/ |
Transformative WorkA transformative work is a work that uses a copyrighted work, but changes it in such a way that the original work is not infringed upon. This could mean the literal or cultural meaning of the work is changed, as in a parody, or when portions are used for a commentary or review. The new work must be different in a way that it does not supersede, or compete, with the original.
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