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Copyright Infringement Play It Safe: Making Sure You're Not Committing Copyright Infringement Copyright infringement is not an easy thing to explain. While it may seem as simple as not using someone else’s work, it’s not that easy. Thanks to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and many other organizations, we have the ability to use others’ works – as long as we use it under ‘fair use’ laws. So what does fair use have to do with copyright infringement, and how can you utilize it? Fair use laws are the conditions in which you can use a copyrighted work without having to pay someone royalties. This includes when you use a copyrighted work for educational or instructional uses, criticism of the work, commentaries on the work, news reporting about the work, teaching on the work (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship uses, and research. This is talked about fully in Section 107 of the Copyright Code (commonly called Fair Use) and is available for you to read at your local library. Copyright Infringement in day-to-day life Sometimes, if you’re writing a paper for work or school, or if you are creating a Power Point presentation, you need to use someone’s work that is already in copyright. So how do you use it without committing copyright infringement? All you have to do is ask – the worst they can say is no, right? But, if they do say no, there are several items in the public domain which may help you to finish your project without having to commit copyright infringement. What is the public domain, and how does it relate to copyright infringement? Material that is not copyrighted is considered in the public domain – you cannot commit copyright infringement on works in the public domain. These works include things that the copyright has expired on, or is not copyright-able – such as government publications, jokes, titles, and ideas. Some creators (writers, musicians, artists, and more) deliberately put their work in the public domain, without ever obtaining copyright, by providing an affiliation with Creative Commons. Creative Commons allows people who create materials to forfeit some, or all, of their copyright rights and place their work either partially or fully in the public domain. So, how do I ensure I’m not committing copyright infringement? First of all, if you’re going to use someone else’s material, you may want to check the public domain to see if something is suitable for use, instead of trying to use someone else’s copyright. However, if you can’t find something suitable (and you can’t create something yourself), the next best thing (and your only legal course of action) is to find a piece that is in copyright, and contacting the copyright holder. When you contact the copyright holder, make sure you tell them what you want to use their piece for – whether it’s for your blog, podcast, or report – and ask them if you can use it. You may have to pay royalties, or an attribution in your piece, or a combination of both. The creator may also place many limitations on when and how you can use their material. Follow all these instructions they give you, and you’ll be free and clear to use their work as you want. Once you have permission to use a copyrighted work, you need to make sure you stay within the agreed-upon boundaries - if you veer outside their agreed terms, you may open yourself up for a copyright infringement lawsuit – which can be nasty, costly, and time consuming. If you’re in doubt, before contacting the copyright holder, contact a copyright lawyer to ensure you’re following the law – and protect yourself!

Copyright lawyer search Easy Ways to Finding a Good Copyright Lawyer Search with the Internet There are a few easy ways to find a good copyright lawyer search while using the internet, however just typing in the phrase doesn’t always work. You must know how to use a search engine; after all you don’t just want the first person that pops up. No, you want that best person for the job representing you, it doesn’t matter what your copyright issue is. If it has come to a time that you actually need to do a copyright lawyer search than chances are you are being sued or want to sue someone, this means you want someone that knows what they are doing and hopefully has a little experience under their belt. First, you can go to any search engine and type in “Copyright lawyer“, search for the first ten or look on the sides where all the ads are. Remember, companies pay money to have their ads on the side, maybe they are great. The only way you’ll be finding out is if you click on them and explore. You may even want to type in more than one phrase, “Copyright lawyer+intellectual property.” This search would bring up even more lawyers pages that deal with copyright issues, which is what you should be looking for in the first place. Now you’ve narrowed down the field by thousands. Once you’ve found a lawyer you make want to make sure he is in your area. There are sites that will help you determine this by putting in your zip code or state in which you live, this will bring you to a page with all the lawyers that specialize in that field that live near you. You may not be as lucky as some and actually have to drive to get to one; however it’ll be worth it since they know what they are doing. Don’t forget to do a search of the lawyer before you make any final decisions, you may actually find a review or two on him/her. Wouldn’t it be nice to know how they rank compared to others in this field? You can even find that out as you do are on a search for a copyright lawyer, just type it in like you did for intellectual property. Ask any questions you may have on the phone and after hanging up you may want to ask around and see if anyone you know has ever dealt with that lawyer. If you have your own lawyer you may want to ask him/her whom they may recommend that you go to in your situation. Lawyers know about others in the job and know the best way for you to get help is by using the one that specializes in whatever the need is. If you don’t have access to a computer you can do a copyright lawyer search by using a phone book. Look up lawyers inside the yellow pages and find one that specializes in the area you need, whether it is copyright laws, infringement or intellectual property. You may want to call several different lawyers and get a feel for which one could best represent you. Finding information has become easier since we have the internet, many people also fall under the idea that because there is so much information they don’t need to do a copyright lawyer search when the time comes. They basically get as much information they can find and use that in court. This doesn’t always work; sometimes the other side has a good lawyer and knows more tricks than you do. Which only leaves you footing a very big bill, don’t make this mistake…hire a lawyer.

Copyright Law Plagiarism Plagiarism Is Simply Unethical Anyone who is a writer is concerned with plagiarism. Copyright Plagiarism Laws protects copyright holders from having their works plagiarized. Many people think it is ironic that the word plagiarism derives from “kidnapper” in Latin. However, it is true. If a person uses another person’s words without permission, they have indeed stolen or kidnapped something that was owned by another and is in violation of copyright law. Plagiarism is a very bad word in the writing world. Crediting the author of the work will not keep someone immune from being in violation of copyright law. Plagiarism is plagiarism, even if the author is cited if the author did not give permission for the work to be used. One of the most common areas that copyright law plagiarism is violated is in the academic world. Many students will copy and paste the information they need for their research papers and essays straight off the Internet and turn it in to their professors. However, this type of cheating is easily detected now with special programs that professors can use. Plagiarism is unethical, not only in the writing world, but in the academic world, as well. Did you know that you could plagiarism a work but not be in violation of the copyright? Likewise, you can be in violation of a copyright and not have been plagiarizing. It is really not that hard to understand. Let’s say you are using Abraham Lincoln’s exact words in a paper and you did not cite him as the source or give him credit. Well, Lincoln’s words aren’t copyrighted because they are in the public domain. But, you did plagiarize because you tried to pass off his words as your own. Alternatively, if you use a picture in a book and you did not gain permission to use the book, you have violated copyright law because you did not source the artist and you did not get permission from the artist to use the picture. If you are in school, the best way you can get around committing plagiarism is to simply list your sources. If you use someone’s word, list it in an endnote or in a footnote. List the resource you found it in the bibliography. Another way around copyright law plagiarism violations is to take notes when you are reading. Take notes in your own words and put the resource away. Write your paper from your own words. No one wants to be singled out for plagiarism, especially a student who is concerned about their reputation at school and writers who need to keep their credibility in good standing. With today’s technological advances, it is not too hard to pinpoint plagiarized work. Even webmasters who run websites are on to the plagiarism crowd. They can run their entire sites through a special program to see if their content has been stolen and duplicated elsewhere on the Internet. If you are dealing in the written word, either academically or as a profession, it is a good idea that you only use your own words. It was probably easier to get away with plagiarism 100 years ago, but it is not that easy today. The changes are very high that if you are caught violating copyright law plagiarism laws you will be caught. Not only is it embarrassing, but it can cost you a bundle in a lawsuit.