Copyright Information for Students

• You can link to the material. Linking to an image or public website is not copying. While you should still cite and give attribution to the owner of the website, it is not usually required to request permission to link to a publicly available website.
• You can request permissions from the copyright owner.
• You can use the work in accordance with an existing license. For instance: The work may be issued under a creative commons license where the creator has clearly established what others can do with his work.
• Your use may fall under exceptions and limitations of copyright law like fair use.

The Fair Use Doctrine provides for limited use of copyrighted materials for educational and research purposes without permission from the owners. It is not a blanket exemption. Instead, each proposed use must be analyzed under a four-part test:

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 Public Domain is a state of belonging to the public as a whole and not being protected by copyright law. Works in the public domain are those for which copyright protection has expired, been forfeited or were inapplicable. They can be copied, distributed, performed and displayed without seeking permissions or applying to an exception under copyright law.