Copyright and Options

Although there are copyrights on most recently created materials, we have options. A copyright
basically means that the content someone created is their property for a certain amount of time.
Outside of fair use, which requires certain intentions be met, that material must be released by
permission of the owner in order to be used. Essentially the Constitution says; The Congress
shall have Power To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited
Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and
Discoveries. (Article I, Section 8). Which is also how the U.S. Code title 17 (Copyright law)
describes the concept of copyright. This is an inspirational thought to people who create original
content, knowing that they will be compensated for their efforts, thus leading to continuous
development. A very important fact is that citation of a copyrighted work does not ensure
compliance with the law, and the most certain way to prevent infringement is to obtain the
originators permission before usage. So how can we use what we need for this project?
Within title 17, section 107, contains factors for considering a works usage to be of Fair Use.
Simply put, reproduction of a work is considered fair if it is for the purposes of: criticism,
comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. To provide additional guidance to
the requirements to consider a work fair use, they provide four factors to consider. These factors
are:
The purpose and character of use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for
nonprofit educational purposes. I understand this to mean that should the material be used in a
class setting in which it is under study without any form of developing a profit to the distributor,
it is fair use.
The nature of the copyrighted work I interpret this to mean that for example, if a work is
technical in nature, unique to its own design, study of that technology may require some
reproduction of material in order to research its functionality. This does not mean that Apple can
copy Samsungs work and produce their own Samsung phone, yet that it may utilize a
technological breakthrough for learning purposes and then produce their own product from their
own creation.
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole, meaning that when Weird Al Yankovic creates a parody (or criticism) of a song, he must
use certain amounts of the original song in order to tie the parody to the original material.
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work, I figure
this is relevant to if a paparazzi takes a photograph of a celebrity in a compromising situation, the
potential value of that photo is going to be high, thus if a film developer were to abscond with
that photo in order to reproduce it, reducing its value by market saturation, it would be a
violation of that photographers rights.
The public domain is where information is released from copyright or is a form of information
not qualifying for copyright. Release from copyright can occur when creators or scientists
purposefully remove any copyright they may have acquired in order to support the freedom of

information, and the availability of that information for further development. It may also lose
copyright when its copyright period has expired. Public domain essentially means that there is no
copyright for the material, and that it is free to utilize. Public domain existence should be
certified as the first step to using a public domain material.
Another option for obtaining material, under a concept of the material wanting to be used is
Creative Commons. This is used for original content creators who wish for their materials to be
utilized by people or even businesses. You can establish whether or not you want your material
to be resold, and you can establish how you wish for people to use your content without limiting
them to having to contact you and establish permission for use. A creative commons is a license
designating you as the owner and the rules you have established on the material that you wish to
share.
If we cannot find the materials we need to use in the public domain, or creative commons, our
next best choice is to look for Royalty Free material. Royalty Free does not mean that the
material is without a cost. It does however mean that you will be able to pay one time for the
usage of the material and then be free to use it as you need it. Whereas a copyrighted material
will require you to pay to use every single usage. Think of it as purchasing a rubber stamp. Once
you own it, you can stamp whatever you want with it.

[Additionally, to test Turnitin, here comes copy and pasted material.]

Subsequent violation. The court may increase an award of damages under this subsection by 3
times the amount that would otherwise be awarded, as the court considers appropriate, if the
court finds that a person has subsequently violated subsection (a) within 3 years after a final
judgment was entered against that person for a violation of that subsection.