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Journalism (UNH Durham)

Copyright

Copyright is a complex area of law that protects your intellectual property from being used by someone else. Your writing is automatically copyrighted when it is considered finished. You do not need to publish or to register your work for it to be copyrighted.

Some ways to type the copyright symbol ©:

  • MS Word: AutoCorrect converts (c) to ©
  • Mac: Press Option and g
  • PC: Press Alt and type 0169 on the numeric keypad

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Copying, modifying, displaying or distributing the work of others may require determining whether:

  • the work is in the public domain,
  • whether your use of it is covered by fair use (or another exemption)
  • whether permission needs to be obtained from and/or a fee needs to be paid to the copyright owner

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The links below provide general information but not legal advice.

Examples of Transformative Uses

Examples of the fair use of copyrighted work to create transformative works for educational, noncommercial purposes.

Fair Use Evaluation Tools

What is Creative Commons?

 

From the Creative Commons Website:

"Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools.

Our free, easy-to-use copyright licenses provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use your creative work — on conditions of your choice. CC licenses let you easily change your copyright terms from the default of “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.”

Creative Commons licenses are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs."

Royalty-free Images

Please note: Exercise caution when using material downloaded from websites as the Internet contains a mix of works protected by copyright and works in the public domain. Remember that you must have the right to use the images you are including in your project. 

Viewing an image online doesn't automatically mean that you can reuse or copy it without permission or payment.

These sites search for images with open licenses.  Some require you to credit the artist or photographer:

Music Sources