Copy Right & Fair Use

 Have you ever seen that tiny little c in a circle symbol on multiple things and wondered what it is? That's what's called a copyright!

What is a copy right? ©

For a simple explanation, a copy right is the legal right of the owner of intellectual property. Some examples of things that can be copy righted are books, articles, songs, photographs, sculptures, motion pictures, and more. In simple terms, it protects an artist's work, and those who would like to use that work and / or share it somewhere else must get the permission of the owner of that work. 

Why should I know about this?

It is important to know and learn about copy rights, because sometimes we will see something cool, and want to use it for our own purposes. With that, it is important to know what we can and can't use, because it is super easy to just copy and paste anything off of the internet. When we know what a copy right is and how to use it, it is a good tool to have to share content and art properly. When we use other's work for our own but ask for permission first, it is called licensing.

Fair use :

When using someone else's work, there is a correct way called fair use. Fair use considers the amount of the work used, the purpose, nature of the work, and the effect of the new project. 

- Amount used : only using a smaller amount of the work is okay (ex. a cropped photo, or short clip of a long video)

- Purpose : when work is taken and given a new purpose than it was originally used for, to make it more original

- Nature of work : it is easier to use work that is fact, and nonfiction

- Effect : the new work that is being made should not negatively affect the original work

Extra sources :

Here is a great video that describes a lot about copy right and fair use! 

Here is also a link to a great article describing copy rights and some other related things! : 

Copy Right