Welcome to the Copyright Resources page for Saint Leo University faculty, your comprehensive resource hub for navigating the complexities of copyright in academia. Designed specifically for university faculty, this page offers a wealth of information, tools, and guidance to help you understand and manage copyright issues in teaching and research. Explore our easy-to-navigate sections on copyright basics, Fair Use, Open Access, Creative Commons licensing, and Public Domain. Whether you’re preparing research papers, or course materials, Copyright Resources is here to support you in fostering an ethical and compliant academic environment by providing you with practical tips on how to properly attribute sources and use copyrighted material legally.
Copyright Basics
Copyright provides legal protection to creators of original works, such as literature, art, and music. It grants the creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, and modify their work. This protection typically lasts for the creator’s lifetime plus a certain number of years, depending on the jurisdiction. Copyright ensures creators can control the use of their work and benefit financially from it, while preventing unauthorized use by others. Understanding copyright is crucial for respecting intellectual property rights.
Fair Use
Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows limited use of copyrighted material without requiring permission from the rights holders, typically for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. You still must cite your source. If you are using an author's exact phrasing or sequence of words to express an idea, then you need permission to cite more than what can be considered “fair use.”
How to identify Fair Use work
- Determine the context of how you’re using the material. Fair use often applies if the use is educational, transformative, or non-commercial, but this can be a legal gray area.
- Fair use is not always clearly labeled; it often requires a judgment call based on factors like purpose, nature, amount, and effect on the market for the original work.
- Look for a “Fair Use” label.
Open Access
Open access describes digital materials such as scholarly research, that are freely available online for anyone to read, download, and share the content. Since the author still retains the copyright in their articles, they are made available under a Creative Commons license (usually Attribution-Only, or CC-BY) to allow others to freely access, copy and use in research. You still must cite your source making sure the author is correctly attributed.
How to identify Open Access work
- Check if the content is available on an open-access platform like PubMed Central, Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), or institutional repositories.
- Look for an “Open Access” label or verify that no payment or subscription is required to access the full text.
Creative Commons
Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that offers free licenses to help creators legally share their work with the public under specific terms and conditions. You still must cite your source acknowledging the original creator and meet other conditions, such as attributing the work and linking back to the license.
How to identify Creative Commons work
- Look for the Creative Commons (CC) logo or license information on the material (e.g., CC BY, CC BY-SA).
- The source should explicitly state the type of Creative Commons license it is under, typically found in the footer or alongside the work.
Public Domain
Works that are free from intellectual property laws and are not covered by copyright law, so anyone can use them without requesting permission or paying a fee. You are not legally required to cite a source when using something in the public domain, but it's a common practice and a best practice to show respect for the original author or source.
How to identify Public Domain work
- Check the publication date; older works (e.g., before 1924 in the U.S.) are often in the public domain.
- Look for statements like “This work is in the public domain” or similar indications on websites like Project Gutenberg or Wikimedia Commons.
- Look for a “Public Domain” label
Importance of Citation
Citing sources is crucial because it provides credit to the original authors of the ideas or information you use, thus respecting intellectual property rights and avoiding plagiarism. It also lends credibility to your work by demonstrating that it is based on well-researched, reliable sources. Proper citations enable readers to verify the information, trace its origins, and further explore the topic. Moreover, acknowledging sources fosters transparency and academic integrity, contributing to a scholarly community where ideas can be shared and built upon responsibly.
To help you with correct citing you can visit:
- Bibcitation https://www.bibcitation.com
- Citation Machine
https://www.citationmachine.net
- Cite This for Me
https://www.citethisforme.com
MLA or APA
The choice between MLA and APA citation styles for citing course resources generally depends on the academic discipline:
- APA (American Psychological Association): This style is commonly used in the social sciences, including psychology, sociology, education, and business. It emphasizes the date of publication, which is important in fields where the currency of information is crucial.
Example: Coelho, P., & Clarke, A. (2018). The Alchemist. Thorsons.
- MLA (Modern Language Association): This style is often used in the humanities, particularly in literature, philosophy, and the arts. MLA focuses more on the author and title of the source, which aligns with the humanities’ emphasis on authorship and textual analysis.
Example: Coelho, Paulo, and Alan, Clarke. The Alchemist. Thorsons, 2018.
