What is copyright?
Copyright is a set of legal rights that an author has over his or her work for a limited period of time. Copyright covers everything from using images or sound files from the Web to photocopying.
Most
information is protected by copyright. The exception is work that is
in the "public domain, " which can be reproduced or used by
anyone. However, you still must credit the author.
from "Bound by Law" by Keith Aoki, James Boyle, and Jennifer Jenkins of the Duke Center for the Study of the Public Domain. (This book is available under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.)
Copyright Resources
- Copyright at the University of MichiganThe University of Michigan copyright website has information for students, covering the basics of copyright and how to use copyrighted materials.
If you want to learn more about copyright, check out these online resources.
- Digital Copyright SliderThis tool helps you determine whether or not an item is still under copyright or is in the public domain.