The Scout Report -- Volume 22, Number 11

When California passed a law in 2006 requiring schools that accept technology funding to educate their students about copyright, plagiarism, and Internet safety, many states considered following suit. However, to date there are few online curricula that help educators to present copyright law in a way that is both balanced and thought provoking. Enter Teaching Copyright, which boasts five lessons that seek to teach students the basics of copyright while encouraging their creativity and curiosity. Lessons cover such topics as copyright and the rewards of innovation, the intricacies of fair use, free speech, public domain, and a review of what students already know. The last lesson takes students through an entertaining and educational mock trial that helps them master the principles of fair use. [CNH]

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Prior to the Statute of Anne, which was passed in England on April 10, 1710, the rights of authors and publishers to control the copying and distribution of their work went largely unacknowledged. However, after that landmark law, a number of nations instituted copyright laws similar to the ones we know today, including laws passed in the post-Revolutionary War United States. On this page from the Library of Congress, readers will find an excellent timeline of copyright milestones, from the age of scribes prior to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century to the age of the Internet. Along the way they may enjoy perusing entries about the Universal Copyright Convention, held in Geneva, Switzerland in 1952, the amending copyright laws in 1980 to include computer programs, and the 1998 law that extended copyright protection to the life of an author plus 70 years after the author's death. Indeed, this excellent compilation helps take "the mystery out of copyright," and offers a comprehensive look at copyright law through the ages. [CNH]

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This three-minute video about copyright and fair use, which was produced by Common Sense Media and intended for use by secondary teachers, provides an excellent overview of basic concepts related to copyright law. For example, the video offers five tips for using copyrighted Internet content, including: check who owns it, get permission to use it, give credit to the creator, buy it (if necessary), and use it responsibly. The video also explains that content can be used fairly when the intention is related to schoolwork and education, news reporting, criticizing or commenting, and comedy or parody, but that the work must not be for profit and only small bits of it can be presented. In addition to the short animation, the site provides a helpful lesson plan called "Copyrights and Wrongs," as well as a Video Discussion Guide to help students engage with the material. [CNH]

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"Can I use material I found online for teaching or school work?" This illuminating infographic answers the question in a step-by-step guide, identifying what material can - and cannot - be used for teaching or school purposes. For example, the flowchart suggests that readers who need media to present their research or to assist with teaching might first consider creating their own media. If they can't do that, they might search for Public Domain materials. If they can't find what they're looking for in the public domain, they might search for Creative Commons. If that doesn't work, they can then think about whether they might claim Fair Use. The infographic also includes a section on licensing one's own media, a section on how to think about whether it might be feasible to claim fair use, and instructions for how to ethically and legally claim fair use in certain circumstances. [CNH]

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In the United States, use of copyrighted material is considered fair when it is done for a limited and transformative purpose. Knowing what is determined fair use and what isn't, however, is not always as easy as it sounds. The Fair Use Evaluator, which was created by the American Library Association's Office for Information Technology Policy, helps readers through the process of deciding what is and isn't fair use under the U.S. Copyright Code. To use the evaluator, select "Make a Fair Use Evaluation." The program will then take readers through five steps, including Getting Started, The Fair Use Evaluator, Provide Additional Information, Get a Hard or Electronic Copy, and How to Use Your Analysis. In addition, on the homepage readers may also select Learn More About Fair Use, for basic information about fair use guidelines. As an interactive tool, the Evaluator is a helpful resource for anyone unsure about fairness of use. [CNH]

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The United States Copyright Office website virtually teems with information about the multifarious intricacies and real world practicalities of copyright law. Here readers may Register a Copyright, Record a Document, Search Records, and Learn About Statutory Licensing. They may also engage in various Tutorials that are designed to help users navigate the site, such as an excellent Copyright Search Tutorial, which may be viewed in PowerPoint, Webpage, PDF, and OpenDocument formats. Beginners to the wide world of Copyright may benefit from the answers found in the Frequently Asked Questions section, where they can find explanations of such quandaries as "What is Copyright?" and "When is my work protected?" Finally the Law and Policy page includes a range of services, including sections dedicate to Copyright Law, Regulations, and Policy Reports, among many others. Interested readers may also find the Fair Use Index especially useful as it allows users to search jurisdictions and categories for particular cases and judicial decisions. [CNH]

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According to Copyright.gov, "A work of authorship is in the 'public domain' if it is no longer under copyright protection or if it failed to meet the requirements for copyright protection." Works in the public domain may be used free of charge for any purpose. Amazingly, the New York Public Library has recently placed more than 180,000 of the items in their Digital Collections in the public domain. Readers may like to explore several tools and projects designed to inspire use of the public domain resources. These include Visualize the Public Domain, where readers may scout the public domain resources by century, genre, collection, or color; Discover the Collections, where experts post blog entries inviting users to use the collections in interesting ways; and a series of Public Domain Remixes, in which NYPL staff have used public domain materials to create groundbreaking games and projects. In addition, readers may use the excellent search function to explore the digital collections and discover for themselves what might be useful. [CNH]

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As this excellent site from the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) so succinctly explains, intellectual property (IP) refers to creations of the mind, such as inventions; literary and artistic works; designs; and symbols, names, and images used in commerce. Types of IP include Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, Industrial Designs, and Geographical Indications. As a whole, the WIPO website is broadly informative and readers will find a number of excellent Publications. For example, the freely downloadable PDF "What is IP?" contains an introduction and pithy chapters on the subjects of patents, trademarks, industrial design, and geographical indications, as well as a chapter dedicated to copyright and related rights. For a more comprehensive treatment, readers will also find the freely downloadable "WIPO Intellectual Property Handbook." [CNH]

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This entertaining site from the UCLA Library helps readers understand the elaborate case law of intellectual property through illustrations, quizzes, and colorful text boxes. After perusing the homepage, readers may like to explore the various sections of the site. The first, Intellectual Property, includes 15 subsections that explain the basics of copyright, fair use, patents, trademarks, and other related topics before offering a quiz to help readers maximize their learning. Need a File, Share a File delves into copyright as related to the ever more common practice of file sharing, while Citing and Documenting Sources provides an excellent primer on how to avoid plagiarism and how to properly cite various types of media. For readers working in a college context, this sterling resource from UCLA libraries can provide students and professors with everything they need to know about intellectual property in academia. [CNH]

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Scientists of all kinds will benefit from reading this excellent article from the open access journal, PLoS: Computational Biology. The authors, each of whom is well established in his field, offer ten simple rules that might help researchers protect their intellectual property. These include tips such as: Get Professional Help, Know Your (Intellectual Property) Rights, Think about Why You Want IP, Be Realistic about What You Can, and Cannot, Protect, Keep Your Idea Secret until You Have Filed a Patent Application, and others. Each rule is accompanied by several explanatory paragraphs that elucidate and clarify the points, making for an exceptionally useful list of advice for scientists that would like to protect their innovative work and develop it for the next phase of inquiry and results.[CNH]

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This 76-page report prepared by the Economics and Statistics Administration and the United States Patent and Trademark Office makes the case that, far from being secondary to the task, trademarks and other intellectual property (IP) rights provide the very bedrock by which the United States expands its economy and makes its place in the world. Key findings of the report include the fact that the U.S. economy as a whole relies on some form of IP, because nearly every industry either produces or uses intellectual property. The report also identifies 75 industries that are particularly IP-intensive, and these industries accounted for approximately 27 million jobs and almost 19 percent of employment in the year 2010. The report also includes distinct sections dedicated to patents, trademarks, copyrights, and employment, each of which are fact filled and educational in their own right. [CNH]

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Creative Commons is a nonprofit that offers free legal tools to creative people who would like to share their work under specified conditions. On the site, readers may like to start by searching the commons, which they can do using the convenient search feature. A search turns up results from the OpenClipArt library, Google, Wikimedia Commons, SoundCloud, and other sources - all of it pre-approved for legal use. The site also features a number of compelling features for users who would like to license their own content. For example, under Licenses, users will find categories such as About the Licenses, Choose a License, and Things to know before licensing to understand available licensing options for particular products. On the other hand, readers who would like to use the work of others may also read about Best practices for attribution and Getting permission. Finally, the Creative Commons blog is a regularly updated source of information about licensing, public domain work, and the various artists and others that use Creative Commons to license their work. [CNH]

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With more than 227 million images available for legal use on its site, Creative Commons is a phenomenal resource for bloggers, educators, web designers, and many others working in digital images. However, according to the researchers at Foter Blog, more than 90 percent of Creative Commons photos are not attributed at all. Of those that are attributed, less than 10 percent are attributed properly. This surprisingly clear infographic provides concise directions for how, exactly, to attribute Creative Commons content. First, the infographic explains what a Creative Commons license is and what it allows users to do. Then it explains the different conditions (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works, and Share Alike) and what they mean. Finally, the graphic offers some statistics on the most popular licenses and categories before reviewing how users should attribute photos, using a simple four-step process that includes citing the author, the title of the work, the license type, and the copyright notices. For readers who would like to understand how to properly attribute Creative Commons content, this infographic is a must see. [CNH]

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This snappy and succinct 3-minute video offers readers a concise explanation of what Creative Commons is, what it does, and how artists, corporations, musicians, bloggers, and anyone else might make use of it. Put simply, according the video, Creative Commons is like a public park: anyone can use a public park, as long as they follow certain guidelines. Likewise, anyone can use the materials on the Creative Commons website, as long as they correctly attribute the work, based on the Creative Commons licensing system. In addition, artists and others who would like to share their work may choose exactly how they would like it to be used. For example, can it be used for commercial purposes, or not? Or, can people use it to make derivative work? Or, do the users need to share alike? Creative Commons seeks to build a global community of shared ideas, and this video explains the process. [CNH]

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Subject matter experts at the Harvard Law School Library have compiled over 130 Research Guides to assist students and other library patrons with their research initiatives. Ranging in topic from Animal Law to Mergers & Acquisitions to Visualization Tools, there are numerous resources to be explored. One particular guide of note is the Public Domain and Creative Commons Media Finder. This handy reference was crafted by Research Librarian Meg Kribble and will help interested readers locate and correctly attribute public domain and Creative Commons media for personal and academic use. To start, the guide breaks down the difference between the public domain and Creative Commons. Then, the guide links to a helpful three-minute video that explains the Creative Commons process and offers an infographic detailing the various types of Creative Commons licenses. Perhaps most helpful, are the annotated listings of public domain and Creative Commons Web resources. This thorough compilation is sure to make it easy to find Images, Audio Content, and Video Content for a variety of projects and presentations. [CBD]

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