Schoolcraft College Writing Fellows

Myths About Copyright

Following are some explanations faculty members might give as to why the copies they made comply with the "Fair Use" provisions of copyright law. Unfortunately, each is a myth.

Consulting the "Fair Use Checklist" before you copy a document will help you avoid these myths.

I don't charge for the copies.

I am using the copy in the classroom.

The book is out of print.

My presentation to the community group is educational.

I'm giving the author free publicity when I distribute his/her work.

I don't know who owns the copyright.

I don't know how to contact the author.

I contacted the author but she/he did not respond.

The author's fee is exorbident.

Everything on the Internet is in the public domain.

Copying graphics is different than copying text.

A photograph or digitized image of something in the public domain may be freely copied.

It's a student paper and I took their name off it.

I acknowledged the source on the copy.

The original document did not have a copyright symbol on it.

I know the character is copyrighted, but it is my story line.

Copyright violation is not a crime.




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Schoolcraft College Writing Fellows
18600 Haggerty
Livonia, MI 48152
734-462-4400 (ext. 5292)
fellows@schoolcraft.edu