What is copyright?
A copyright grants to its owner the right to control an intellectual or artistic creation, including the right to profit from others using the work in specific ways without permission or from the sale and performance of the work. Copyright protection extends not only to copies of the written word and recordings of sound, but to visual images such as photographs, animated images, motion pictures, or videotapes. It also includes taped live performances.
For more information, and details on the University Libraries and Stony Brook University copyright policies, follow the links below:
- SBU Copyright Awareness
- Responsible Use of Electronic Resources
- Copyright Policies and Guidelines for Course Reserves
- Copyright Research Guide
What is fair use?
Fair use is a legal principle that provides certain limitations on copyrighted materials. It is important to realize that there are no bright lines, and assessment of whether or not an intended use is a fair use requires a thoughtful analysis of the context and intentions that underlie that use. As illustrative examples, under fair use, a teacher or researcher is allowed a rather limited amount of copying without the copyright owner’s permission for such purposes as: 1) criticism, 2) comment, 3) news reporting, or 4) teaching. These are not the only potential fair uses, but they do apply to many of the activities in which faculty engage.
For more information:
