Copyright and Fair Use - UMUC Library

Disclaimer The information presented here is only general information. Legal advice must be provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship specifically with reference to all the facts of the particular situation under consideration. Such is not the case here, and accordingly, the information presented here must not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney. Updated January 28, 2011 Consistent with BOR Policy IV-3.20, the UMUC Library has developed guidelines for the use of copyrighted materials. The UMUC Library addresses copyright and intellectual property issues because of its role in teaching and promoting information literacy. An Introduction to Copyright What Is Copyright? What Can be Copyrighted? Tangible, original expressions can be copyrighted. Fixation: The item must be fixed in some way. What Cannot be Copyrighted? Works in the public domain: Ideas are in the public domain. What Does Copyright Protect? Top An Introduction to Fair Use

WebQuest Overview | Materials | Workshop Hotlist | Workshop Outline | Additional Resources | Standards | Credits & Thanks Overview This one-hour workshop is intended to give high school students: an introduction to the issue of plagiarism, an overview of copyright laws and fair use provisions a demonstration of techniques to avoid plagiarism, focusing on paraphrasing, quoting, and citing sources. Presented here as an outline, this workshop can be expanded or contracted to meet time constraints, and student interest, concern, or grade level. Materials Needed Workshop Hotlist Bookmark the Internet sites to be accessed in advance or project this hotlist during the workshop itself. I. II. III. IV. V. VI. Workshop Outline I. Copyright Lesson Plan by Laura Kaemming This online lesson plan was designed for 8th grade students to be implemented over the course of several days. Copyright Worksheet Distribute worksheet to students as they enter. II. Project the website. III.

Plagiarism: How to Avoid It Avoiding Plagiarism According to the definition given in the 1997 New Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary of the English Language , plagiarism is "the unauthorized use of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own" (508). To avoid plagiarism, all students must document sources properly using Footnotes, Endnotes, or Parenthetical References, and must write a Bibliography, References, or Works Cited page and place it at the end of the research paper to list the sources used. Of the three ways to document sources - Footnotes, Endnotes, and Parenthetical References, the simplest is using Parenthetical References, sometimes referred to as Parenthetical Documentation or Parenthetical Citations. Check to see which type of documentation is preferred by your teacher. Do not be tempted to get someone else to write your research paper, hand in the same essay to two or more different teachers, or purchase instant essays from the Web. º Avoiding Plagiarism .