Plagiarism, Fair Use and Copyright: Guidelines for Students
CBB Plagiarism Blog: latest headlines
In the age of electronic cut-and-paste, issues surrounding the use of other people's work are becoming more complex and confusing. Students need to know and understand the current climate regarding legal use of information in order to avoid the pitfalls of plagiarism, copyright infringement, and violation of fair use guidelines.
Plagiarism
If you do not acknowledge the source, you are, in effect, stealing material from another writer. This is a serious offense within the academic world. Proper citation of sources is the best safeguard against plagiarism.
Try this Interactive tutorial to check on your knowledge of plagiarism.
Plagiarism is very dangerous for your academic future. Help yourself understand this important issue and keep safe.
Copyright
WARNING CONCERNING COPYRIGHT RESTRICTIONS Used by UConn Libraries Document Deliver / Interlibrary Loan
The Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted materials.
Under certain conditions specified in the Law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified
conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a
request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement. This
institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the Copyright Law.
Giving credit and fair use are completely separate concepts. Either you have the right to use another author's material under the fair use rule or you don't. The fact that you attribute the material to the other author doesn't change that.
The presence or absence of a copyright notice no longer carries the significance it once did because the law no longer requires a notice. Older works published without a notice may be in the public domain, but for works created after March 1, 1989, absence of a notice means virtually nothing.
Fair Use
Generally speaking, Fair Use guidelines apply if you intend to publish a work that is available for sale. Fair Use is designed to protect the rights of those who have created information and are deriving income from it.
The Fair-Use Statute
Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or
phonorecords or by any other means specified in 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.
In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include --
1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
