Fair Use - Stephanie Rabiola | Library

Step 1
To learn about Fair Use, we first have to know a little bit about Copyright and the Public Domain. Watch the video below and answer the questions about it.

1

True or False: Anything you find online is free to use.

1

Who owns the copyright to materials found on the internet?

1

Mark all that make a material in the public domain.

1

Which are ways that fair use is more likely acceptable?

Step 2
The video talked about the 4 factors courts take into account when hearing a Fair Use Copyright case. Read the article with the link below and then, in your own words, describe what each of the 4 factors mean. 

"What is Fair Use?" by Copyright Alliance

1

Purpose and Character of the Use

1

Nature of the Copyrighted Work

1

Amount of Copyrighted Work Used

1

Effect of the Use on Potential Market for the Work

Step 3
Let's look at some senarios. Use the 4 factors to determine if each senario could be classified as fair use.

1

Reese and Brandon are high schoolers that created their own band. They need a band logo to put on the front of the album they're recording. Since neither of them are very good artists, they just find an image online they think represents them well. Of course they'll make t-shirts and stickers with their logo that they'll sell to fans later on. Would this be classified as fair use? Why or why not?

1

Mrs. Cobb, an English teacher, wants her students to create a book trailor for the book they just finished reading. She wants them to use pictures and add music to make it more engaging for the viewers. A particular group of students didn't look to see if they had permisson to use any of the music or images they chose to put in their book trailor. They also didn't cite where they got the music or pictures. Could this be classified as fair use? Explain your answer.

1

Jerrod is running for class president of his high school. To get people to remember him, he decides to take famous images and replace the head of the person in the image with his own. Then he'll add "Vote 4 Jerrod" at the bottom of the picture. Looking at the four factors, would this be considered fair use? What makes you say that?

Step 4
Answer these lesson wrap-up questions before you submit your assignment.

1

What are the factors courts look at to determin fair use? Mark all that apply.

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What was one thing you learned about and found interesting regarding fair use in this lesson?

1

What questions do you still have about fair use?

Step 1 Copyright video was created by Common Sense Education and can be found HERE

Step 2 article "What is fair use?" by Copyright Alliance can be found HERE

All images were created by EFF Photos and can be found HERE