"Don't be the same. Be better."

Following copyright law

Many nonlawyers believe that the unauthorized use of a copyrighted work is permitted if an acknowledgment is made as to the source. This is not true. Acknowledgment of source material (such as citing the author or the publication) may be a consideration in a fair use determination, but it will not protect against a claim of infringement.

In order to guide judges in making determinations of fair use in copyright infringement lawsuits, the Copyright Act includes four factors:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether it is of a commercial nature or for nonprofit educational purposes
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole, and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

You can read more in this article to understand the details for each factor. 

TOOLS TO HELP

We are committed to preparing our students to respect the intellectual property of others and value their own work as creators. 

Creative Commons

Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization dedicated to building a globally-accessible public commons of knowledge and culture. You can use Creative Commons to find music, images, and other content that is available to the public for free and legal sharing, use repurposing and remixing.

Search here for content to use

Galileo

Use an academic database collection like GALILEO to do your school research. The databases in GALILEO will create your citations for you as well. Talk to your school's media specialist to get the password to access Galileo. 

SEARCH GALILEO

Videos

Resources

• "Why Cite?" - three reasons to cite your sources