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Public Speaking - Takahashi: Copyright

This guide is designed to help students prepare for their informative and persuasive speeches.

About this page

This page will help you determine if material is available to use restriction-free or if permission is required. The following videos provide general overviews of copyright and fair use. For more information, click each of the "Using Works Under Copyright" tabs. For a comprehensive explanation of Copyright & Fair Use, visit Scholarship and Data Librarian, Jennifer Davis' complete guide.

Copyright Video Tutorial

Copyright

Watch this informative video on an overview of copyright and how it affects you. Be sure to watch or read about how you can use copyrighted works for your assignments and for other reasons, under the "Fair Use" provision.

Credit: Copyright &Creativity (2019)

Using copyrighted works in assignments  - You:
  • May use an entire work if you obtain clear, written permission from the copyright holder. You may need to negotiate for payment to reuse their work.
  • May use a portion of a copyrighted work for your assignments, and for other reasons, under the 'Fair Use' provision. 
  • Must always credit the works you use by citing them properly, according to the required citation style. 

Learn more in this quick video:

Copyright implications for YouTube

Russel learns some valuable lessons about the consequences of infringing copyright on YouTube, and what he can do instead - and what to do if someone infringes on his copyright rights.

Much of the content in this video also applies to other video sharing applications like VIMEO.

Credit: YouTube Spotlight (2011)

Using Works Under Copyright

Year of Publication Copyright Status
Works published before 1924 Public Domain
Works published 1924-1963 published with copyright notice but copyright was not renewed Public Domain
Works published 1924-1963 with a copyright notice and renewed 95 years after publication date
Works published 1924-1977 without a copyright notice Public Domain
Works published 1963-1977 with a copyright notice 95 years after publication date
Works created on or after Jan. 1, 1978               the lifetime of the creator plus 70 years after the creator's death, under the 1976   Copyright Act
Works made for hire 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever is shorter

To determine whether you need to obtain permission to use, see Do I need to obtain permission to use? below, first.

  Identify who owns the copyright

Published Works Unpublished Works
Start with the publisher Start with the creator
Publishers often have a permissions department and requests can be made directly online Search for contact information either within the work itself or online                                                            

 

  Make request and obtain permission in writing, either through an automated form like RightsLink, e-mail,                  or through a traditional written letter

Published Works Unpublished Works

Publishers will generally ask in an automated form:

  • For what the work will be used 
  • What portion of the work is requested (e.g. figure, illustration, amount of text)
  • Format of use (e.g. print, electronic, both)
  • Whether requester is the author
  • Whether work will be translated 

Identify what the need is and for what it will be used:

  • made for commercial or non-profit use
  • the number of copies being made
  • in what type of format
  • what size of image; in color or in black and white image
  • to whom will the material be distributed how will the material be accessed by others 
  • in what languages will the material be made                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

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Requests made online are often done through RightsLink, a licensing service from the Copyright Clearing House that automates permissions of use directly from the website. See RightsLink tab for more information.


 

 See an example of a permissions letter below.

Once the term of copyright ends, works enter into the public domain and can be freely used by anyone. 

Licenses are normally granted for a particular reason and for a particular time period. 

Examples

  • Professor X acquired a license to use some material in a published course pack. He embedded it online for his students, but was found in violation of his license agreement because the agreement only permitted use of the printed course pack.