COPYRIGHT LAW AND FAIR USE OF IMAGES FOR BLOGGERS Images Julie Umbarger

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?  According to Hawkins (2011) copyright is defined as a federal law of the United States that protects the authorship of original works including artistic, musical, dramatic, literary, written, and other types of work.  Copyright law attempts to create a balance between the public interest and the interests of the creator of the work.

DID YOU KNOW?  Copyright goes into affect in regards to original work the moment it is created, regardless of if it is published or unpublished work?  Creators, unless they wish to enforce their rights, are not required to file any paperwork as copyright is automatic.

ARE THERE EXCEPTIONS? Absolutely! According to Wright (2008) the purpose of copyright is not really to protect the creative work of others, but rather as stated in the United States Constitution states: “to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, be securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries” (Article 1, section 8, clause 8).

WHAT ARE THE EXCEPTIONS? Fair Use Policies  This allows “limited and reasonable” use of copyrighted materials as long as the use does not “interfere with the owners’ rights or impede their right to do with the work as they wish” (Hawkins, 2011). FAIR USE IS ALSO SUBJECT TO LIMITATIONS!

WHAT DOES THE LAW SAY? Section 107 of the Copyright Act States:  The use of work for purposes such as “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement on copyright”.

WHAT ARE THE LIMITATIONS? Fair Use is not the same as Free Use!  To determine if the way in which a work is used is is a fair use the following factors will be considered. “The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; The nature of the copyrighted work; The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; The effect of the use upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work” (17 USC Section 107).

HOW DOES THIS AFFECT BLOGGERS?  Bloggers know the importance of having quality interesting images on their blogs.  You do not want to risk legal action for the use of an image.  You could have your blog removed if you violate copyright laws.

USING COPYRIGHT IMAGES  If you plan to use an image for your blog that is not your own or from a Creative Commons, Hawkins (2011) suggests that you should ask yourself the following questions: What is your purpose for using the image? Have you transformed the image? How much of the image are you using?

SCENARIO 1 You are reviewing a new piece of technology on your coaching blog for educators. You will most definitely want to include a photo. You do not however want this to be a low quality photo that you have taken. So you go to the manufacturer’s website, right click the image, and upload it to your blog so that educators can see the product. Is this an example of a likely fair use situation?

YES!  In accordance with the explanation of fair use laws and considerations, the photo you are using on your blog will not act as a substitute for the actual product, therefore the owner’s rights are affected minimally. Your right to use the copyrighted image would most likely fall under fair use (Hawkins, 2011).

SCENARIO 2 You have decided that love a picture you have seen on another education blog. You like it so much that you want to incorporate it into the heading for you classroom bog. You decide this will be okay as long as you crop the picture so as not to see the copyright notice and go ahead and use it. Have you broken a copyright law when you used the picture?

ABSOLUTELY  When taking a copyrighted image from another source and using it by editing, cropping, or transforming it in any way, you must make sure that the new image you have created or incorporated into your work does not resemble the original (Hawkins, 2011).

SCENARIO 3 You are coaching science teachers within the county regarding the creation of lessons that incorporate indicators of engaged learning as well as high LoTi. You have posted a lesson on your blog that includes a thumbnail of an animal cell directly from the site you are directing the teachers to go to for use as a resource. Is using the sites picture as a thumbnail likely to be copyright infringement?

NO!  According to Hawkins (2011) the use of a thumbnail to link to the original location is likely to fall under the category of fair use.

IN CONCLUSION  If you are unsure of the legal use of an image, don’t risk it!  If using an image, write the owner of the image and ask for permission to be on the safe side.  When using images for a personal blog, it is safer to create your own or locate images from public domain or licensed creative commons.

REFERENCES  Hawkins, S. (2011). Copyright fair use and how it works for online images. Retrieved from for-online-images/ for-online-images/  Wright, C. (2008). The fuss about fair use. Retrieved from  17 United States Constitution Section 106 (n.d.) in Copyright Law of the United States of America. Retrieved from