What is copyright law?
Answer
Copyright laws were established to protect original work, whether in print or multimedia, from being stolen or copied. The author or publisher's permission is necessary to use or reproduce copyrighted materials. Failure to seek or obtain such permission can result in a lawsuit for damages. Materials created before 1929 are not copyrighted and can be used without approval, as they are part of what is known as 'the public domain, a term that refers to works that are not protected by copyright and can be freely used by the public.
The Fair Use Doctrine permits a limited amount of copyrighted work to be reproduced without permission. However, four factors must be considered before fair use can be applied:
- The purpose of reproduction. Will money be made from it, or is it for nonprofit or educational use?
- The nature of the work. Is it factual information or a work of fiction? Fair use is more straightforward to justify if the creation is not a play or novel.
- The portion being reproduced as it relates to the whole. You can't photocopy an entire book, but a few pages are permissible.
- The effect a reproduction will have on the market value of the original. You can't burn DVD copies of a video game and sell them. That would potentially reduce profits that could be earned off the original.
How do copyright laws affect photocopying? Generally, you won't violate copyright law if you make one copy of a book chapter, an article, a photograph, a diagram, etc., for individual study and research.