Why copyright

is bad...
Here are some tips and facts on how to
avoid copyrighting, and to notice if
something is copyrighted.
By: Tatiana Muniz
 Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors
• the purpose and character of your use
           -"In a 1994 case, the Supreme Court emphasized this first factor as being an important indicator of fair use. At issue is
whether the material has been used to help create something new or merely copied verbatim into another work" (Stim and law
Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors)
                         *Has the material you have taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning?
                          *Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, and
understandings?  (Stim and law Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors)

• the nature of the copyrighted work

               -"In addition, you will have a stronger case of fair use if you copy the material from a published work than an unpublished
work. The scope of fair use is narrower for unpublished works because an author has the right to control the first public appearance
of his or her expression." (Stim and law Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors)
• the amount and substantiality of the portion taken
               -This rule—less is more—is not necessarily true in parody cases. A parodist is permitted to borrow quite a bit, even the
heart of the original work, in order to conjure up the original work. That’s because, as the Supreme Court has acknowledged, “the
heart is also what most readily conjures up the [original] for parody, and it is the heart at which parody takes aim.” (Campbell v.
Acuff-Rose Music, 510 U.S. 569 (1994).) (Stim and law Measuring Fair Use: The Four Factors)
• the effect of the use upon the potential market.
 The Consequences of Copyrighting 
• You can file civil lawsuits against those who infringe on registered copyrights. If a court finds the defendant liable for infringement,
they must pay damages to the owner. The amount of damages depends on the specifics of the case and what the owner can
prove (Bodniowycz Consequences for Violations of the Copyright Laws)
• If the owner can prove significant financial harm, the infringer must pay that amount, generally measured by the amount of financial
gain the infringer accrued from using the infringing work. Courts refer to this sum as actual damages. Statutory damages, on the other
hand, do not require the copyright owner to prove financial loss. Statutory damages can range from hundreds of dollars to tens of
thousands of dollars, or in the case of willful infringement, up to $150,000 per work. (Bodniowycz Consequences for Violations of the
Copyright Laws)
• In certain circumstances, a court brings criminal charges against an infringer as well. Generally, a case involves criminal charges
when there is willful infringement of copyrighted works having a minimum retail value set by law within a particular period. Those
who try to circumvent digital tools that protect works might also find themselves with criminal charges. (Bodniowycz Consequences
for Violations of the Copyright Laws)
• Criminal penalties for copyright violations can be significant. Even first-time criminal offenders can end up with hundreds of
thousands of dollars in penalties and imprisonment for up to 180 days. Subsequent offenses can result in increased financial penalties
and prison sentences. (Bodniowycz Consequences for Violations of the Copyright Laws)
• To avoid being subject to civil or criminal consequences, carefully avoid infringing on someone else's copyright. You should also
consider formal registration for your works to have the full scope of remedies available if someone does in fact infringe on your
protected work. If you need assistance, you could always contact a qualified professional who can assist you with potential legal
issues pertaining to such violations. (Bodniowycz Consequences for Violations of the Copyright Laws)
Here are my tips
on how to avoid
copyright
When it comes to getting
information for a paper,
project, for whatever reason it
be, ALWAYS USE
CITATION!! Even if you
Copyrighting is a big thing,
reword it or take words out,
and it happens every day and I
that is still that person's work.
know it seems so easy to just
I know it's hard to put things
copy and paste and just be
in your own words when it
done but always give credit
comes to facts or finding
no matter what.
information about things that
have happened, but always
use citation and give that
author credit for writing what
you are reading.
CITATION PAGE
8 Oct. 2018

Bodniowycz, Larissa. “Consequences

for Violations of the Copyright
Laws.” LegalZoom, 8 Oct. 2018,
info.legalzoom.com/article/consequen
ces-violations-copyright-laws. 

Stim, Richard, and Rich

StimAttorney at law. “Measuring
Fair Use: The Four Factors.”
Stanford Copyright and Fair Use
Center, 4 Dec. 2019,
fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-
use/four-factors/.

4 Dec. 2019
Just a reminder....

• Copyright is illegal, you can and will be

fined or even go to jail on how big the case
is.
• When you copyright, you are harming and
taking credit from the person who did
the work.
• ALWAYS CREDIT THE AUTHOR, AND
ALWAYS DO A CITATION PAGE!