Week 4: Copyright Law, Plagiarism, & Ethical Issues

This week we discussed copyright laws and ethical issues. One of the presentations we were provided with gave a detailed description of copyright laws. Copyright provides protection for the author. Items that are copyrighted include works that are: literary, dramatic, musical, choreography, artistic, video, text, pictorial, architectural, and other particular works. According to the government, "the safest course is always to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material."

One of the benefits of being in the teaching field is the exemptions for copyright laws that are provided. These exemptions are given through the Fair Use Act, which gives limitations for libraries and education purposes. Unlike marketing or advertisement, this makes my future career much less complicated. However, teachers are responsible for the material they use. I will still need to check myself and stay within the legal limits.

This link gives more information about copyright laws and Fair use. It also highlights some challenges that teachers may face, including, "educators, without regard to or knowledge of copyright restrictions, sometimes duplicate materials illegally or load software without license." I hope to avoid this act, which is basically stealing, when I am an educator.