COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE FOR NEW MEDIA

Whether you need an image for your blog post, a soundtrack to your video or that YouTube clip
for your documentary, if youre dealing with multimedia its likely youll end up using someone
elses work as part of your own. And those works are abundant online. But even if it looks like
an open source, an image or music everyone can google, if you take that content and reproduce it
without permission, you are breaking copyright law.

You have to be extra careful about the image you include in your project.
Shepard Fairey v. Associated Press
The Audacity of Hope image Obama was designed by artist Shepard Fairey, which came to
represent his 2008 presidential campaign. January 2009, the photograph on which Fairey based
the poster was revealed: an April 2006 shot by former Associated Press freelance photographer
Mannie Garcia. Associated Press claimed compensation for infringement of COPY RIGHT.
Fairey sued for a declaratory judgment that his poster was a FAIR USE of the original
photograph. A judge urged a settlement, stating that AP would win the case.

What is copyright?
Copyright is a federal law of the United States that protects original works of authorship. A work
of authorship includes literary, written, dramatic, artistic, musical and certain other types of
works.
Article I, Section 8, clause 8, of the United States Constitution states the purpose
of copyright laws is to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by
securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their
respective Writings and Discoveries.
Its a delicate balance between the rights of the creator and the publics interest. When in
conflict, the balance tips more heavily toward the publics interest, which is often contrary to
what the creator believes to be fair or just.
Copyright expires.

Mickey mouse and copyright

What is fair use?

Fair use is a legal exception to the exclusive rights an owner has for his or her copyrighted work.
The purpose of the Fair Use Doctrine is to allow for limited and reasonable uses as long as the
use does not interfere with owners rights or impede their right to do with the work as they wish.
Fair use is in place for the greater good, to allow copyrighted works to be used without
permission for the benefit of the public.
Section 107 of the Copyright Act states:
the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies
or records or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as

criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for

classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.
As a general rule, assume everything on the internet is covered by copyright.
Do not just right click/save and put it on your website or blog or other social media platform or
even use it on print materials. If you can find the source of the image you
can
then determine if they grant a license, such as creative commons, or offer
it in
the public domain.

Creative Commons making UGC copyright explicit

If youre dealing with content thats been published on a platform like Flickr or YouTube, you
may be able to find out the copyright status of that content relatively easily. Both allow users to
easily establish copyright through the Creative Commons license. You can either look for that
license in the relevant part of the page hosting the content.

Creative Commons (CC) is an American non-profit organization founded by Lawrence Lessig

devoted to expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to
share. Since 2002, Creative Commons has been giving creators a way to share their work without
having to relinquish copyright or individually license their work.
There are four types of Creative Commons licenses:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Attribution (BY)
Non-Commercial (NC)
Share Alike (SA)
No Derivative (ND)

Public domain
When copyright expires, or the owner relinquishes the right, the creation enters the public
domain.

Flickr this is on the right hand side under License:

Where can I find CC-licensed music?

Some artists allow you to use their music in commercial productions whereas others only allow
you to use their music in personal productions. So look at the license agreement carefully. Most
music is licensed under Attribution, so in your production you should credit the author of the
music. If it is a slideshow or a video presentation then you should include a credit to the artist
such as:

A Good site for free video music: Comes in handy short clips. 100% free.
Free Stock Music

You can find the music by genre and mood

Audio Nautix All music in this online collection created by Jason Shaw.
Free Music Archive I recommend searching by genre on this site.
High quality for multimedia projects sometimes with fees.
Jamendo
*Royalty free is a vague term which is often confused with, simply, free. It most often
refers to media which is paid for once and can then be used multiple times in different
contexts.
Includes sound effect like Chinese gong, car sounds, storm.
Partners in Rhyme Royalty-Free music & sound effects
Sound Bible Free sound clips, sound bites, and sound effects
Independent musicians
AudioFarm Upload your own music or download from independent artists.

Portal site for Powerpoint, animation, music and photos. Great resource for
presentation projects. Teachers use them often.

Brainy Betty
Where can you find free images you can use without asking

Flickr.com/creative commons
morguefile.com
photo8.com
http://openphoto.net/
http://www.unprofound.com/
http://www.stockvault.net/
http://www.stockvault.net/
http://www.freephotosbank.com/

12 best places to get free images for your site

When you start making your digital portfolio these sites will be sources not only for your photos
but also, background, illustration, patterns and social media buttons.