Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use.

Copyright vs Plagiarism vs Copyright (and Fair Use, TOO!)

There’s a good deal of misinformation, or misunderstanding on the Subject of Copyright, Plagiarism, and Fair Use. I thought a post, addressing some of the issues might help.

I am NOT a lawyer, nor do I profess special insight or knowledge, other than, having navigated the process to Register my images, and explore about protecting my rights with the US. I can’t speak to OUTSIDE the US, so, I won’t.

First off, let’s define the terms:

from Dictionary.com

from Dictionary.com

from Dictionary.com

COPYRIGHT

In the US, the moment you create a work, text, image, artwork of some kind, you are automatically assigned the copyright for that work. You can only copyright the presentation of the idea, not the underlying idea itself.

From the US Copyright Office:
"Your work is under copyright protection the moment it is created and fixed in a tangible form that it is perceptible either directly or with the aid of a machine or device."

That means, you do not need to REGISTER with the US Copyright office, to be assigned the Copyright. It is assigned to you automatically, the moment you first present it. Post it online? You are now the holder of a copyright in the US.

Defining Copyright Infringement
Copyright infringement is simply ANY USE of a copyrighted work, held by someone else, without EXPRESS PERMISSION.

Copyright assigns the HOLDER (Usually, whoever created the work for our purposes)

• The right to reproduce (copy) a work.
• The right to create derivative works based upon it.
• The right to distribute copies of the work to the public.
• The right to publicly display or perform the work.
Simply making copies of the work can be infringing on Copyrights.

In the US, copyright infringement is a very broad legal definition that covers unlawful activities that violate the rights of copyright holders. Put simply, I control the work I create, and that means whether someone can copy, display, or change the work.

PLAGIARISM

Copy information in any form (words, text, images, etc) from another person, or entity and and Paste presenting it as your OWN is Plagiarism. That means, if you DON’T cite the source of where you copy and paste your words, you are plagiarizing, or stealing their words, pretending they are your own.

Where copyright infringement is law, plagiarism is a matter of ethics. Where copyright is about the legal actions and rights, Plagiarism is about the moral and ethical actions.

Copyright is the presentation of ideas, or creations, where Plagiarism can include not only the literal words or images, but ALSO ideas. Anything that is seen as an unethical AND unattributed use of someone else's original creation can be plagiarism.

It’s a complex issue. Oh, and to make it more so, the US Copyright Office has agreements with hundreds of other countries, so, just because I am discussing US law, doesn’t give people ion other countries free reign, to use works copywriter in the US.

From the US COPYRIGHT OFFICE, here’s a Brochure of Agreements with other Countries

Click above and check to see if your local country has reciprocal agreements with the US regarding law.

There are many people how make their living on their words... On their photographs.
What do you do to make money?
Is it ok or right, for others to come steal your JOB taking money, food, clothing, from you and your family?

Steemit's Own Views on Ethics

• From the Steemit FAQ's

Oh, and last thing to consider, just because you feel you may or may not be bound by law, what would your grandmother do? Is it the right thing to do?