Plagiarism, Fair Use, and Copyright Laws FOR INFORMATION PRODUCERS SUCH AS AUTHORS, ARTISTS, AND WEBSITE DEVELOPERS

The Difference Between Plagiarism and Copyright Violation Plagiarism and copyright violation are similar Both mean using or copying material without permission Copyright violation is using someone else’s work without permission Plagiarism means using someone else’s work and representing it as your own Copyrighted material is protected by law

Just Because Material Is on the Internet, Doesn’t Mean It’s Free Original material is protected by copyright as soon as it’s created Material posted or displayed on the Internet is still protected by copyright—even though you can download it Even if you pay for downloaded material—music, videos, games, books—the copyright owner is still protected

Fair Use of Material Copyright laws provide for fair use of limited amounts of content How much can you use? ◦Film, video, TV – Up to 10% or 3 minutes (whichever is less) ◦Text – Up to 10% or 1,000 words (whichever is less) ◦Music, lyrics, music video – Up to 10% or 3 minutes (whichever is less) ◦Computer databases or spreadsheets – Up to 10% or 2,500 cells (whichever is less)

What You Don’t Need to Cite Results of your own experiments Your own thoughts, insights, observations, experiences, or conclusions Common knowledge

What Can Be Classified as Common Knowledge Information easily found in general reference sources Information you can find in at least five other places Information in the public domain, such as folklore and government documents Information your readers should already know