The purpose of this guide is to provide the East Central College community with
basic information about copyright law and fair use in an academic setting.
This guide does not offer or substitute for legal advice.
This guide adapted from "Brief guide to copyright and fair use" Southwestern University, Georgetown TX. Sept 1. 2016. http://infoguides.southwestern.edu/copyright
Copyright law, as defined in Title 17 of the United States Code, protects "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression" for a limited period. Copyright protection includes, for instance, the legal right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work, and copyright protects authors, publishers and producers, and the public. Copyright applies both to traditional media (books, DVDs, CDs, etc.) and to digital media (electronic journals, web sites, etc.). Copyright protects the following eight categories of works:
Ownership of a copyrighted work includes the right to control the use of that work. Use of such work by others during the term of the copyright requires either permission from the author or reliance on the doctrine of fair use. Failure to do one or the other will expose the user to a claim of copyright infringement for which the law provides remedies including payment of monetary damages to the copyright owner.
