Educational Technology and Copyright Law

          On Mark Brumley's article in TeachAmazing!, it explains very clearly the purpose of copyrighting work and how to use a copyrighted file correctly. This article is very informational, as I've learned many things such as:

• You don't need to file for copyrighting. As soon as you create something, it's already copyrighted!.
• When you create your copyrighted work, you will now be able to reproduce it, display it publicly, distribute your work and gain profit.
• The copyright law states that you're allowed to use it for criticism, commenting, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. This means teachers are still able to use someone's work for an educational purpose.
• Factors in determining if you used the work fairly includes the purpose of the use and the potential value in it.
• Websites like iStockPhoto makes you have to buy a license to use the photo and Flickr Creative Commons' license states that you have to give credit to the author when you use it.

Check out the article here.