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As Digital Learners, you have grown up in an age where "borrowing" other people's work, tinkering with it, and adding your own creative flair has always been the norm. So,why should you waste your time learning about copyright? (other than the fact that your wonderful teacher has informed you that this will be the topic of the day) Well, there is that little thing called the law, but if that doesn't convince you, how about this..... you spend hours and hours creating a project for class, only to be told that you can't post it on the web because it infringes on someone else's rights! Guess, knowing a little bit about copyright might be a good idea!

[|Wordle]

[|Food for Thought]

The good news is that there is something called [|Fair Use] which states that you have "the right to use copyrighted material without permission or payment under some circumstances—especially when the cultural or social benefits of the use are predominant. " So...what does that mean?

Well.. it's complicated! In fact, adults have not yet come up with a black and white list of what's acceptable and what is not in regards to if you can use copyrighted materials without explicit permission, however there are some guidelines surrounding this sticky issue. These guidelines are called the [|Four Factors Test.]Now be careful! This isn't the type of test, where you can get some right and some wrong and still pass (remember copyright falls under the law, so you have to meet all four parts of the test!)

__**The Nature of Your Use**__ - Is the material being used for the purpose of creating something new? It can not be a new product with the same exact content. If you're unsure ask yourself the following questions: (These are known as The Transformative Factor - you must be transforming or changing the work). More on transformativeness can be found here. __**Nature of the Work Used**__ - When using information which is fact based, i.e. historical or scientific knowledge, for the purpose of creating educational materials, fair use is generally acceptable. Private works, such as original poetry, screenplays, etc., are more strictly protected. Original creations are copyrighted to protect the creative ideas behind them. For more information see this [|page.]
 * Has the material you have taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning?
 * Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights and understandings?


 * __ Extent of the Us e __** ** - You should only be taking the amount of the product which you need for your purpose. Therefore, if you only need two minutes of a movie to demonstrate your understanding of say the power of a monologue, that is all you should use. No more, no less. Your usage should not duplicate the original product, i.e. using the refrain from a famous poem as your own is not acceptable.

__Economic Effect__ ** ** - Does your use take away income or the potential to make more income? You can not profit from another individual's idea nor should your use prohibit the original owner from making money... to an extent. Really you need to use your moral compass when it comes to this aspect of the law. **

//YOU NEED TO EXAMINE ALL FOUR FACTORS TO MAKE THE JIGSAW PUZZLE COMPLETE**//
[|When Does Fair Use Apply to Me?]