Copyright Clarity

  After reading Copyright Clarity, I definitely got some clarity on what copyright and fair use is but still have some blurred lines within both things.  My biggest takeaway from this book is that fair use gives us the right to use copyrighted material when the cost to the copyright holder is less than the social benefit of the use of the copyrighted work.  In order to determine fair use with something, it has to be transformative.  In order for it to be transformative, we must consider four factors: purpose of the use; nature of the work; amount being used; and market impact.  We must also ask ourselves questions like “am I creating new audiences?  Creating new interpretations? Creating new markets?” in order to determine if it’s fair use.  

    If we are mindful of fair use, we can use copyrighted materials to support and supplement our lessons and activities.  With technological advances, it is so easy to copy and paste something from a website, use and share information, and modify and repurpose information so we must be mindful of fair use when it comes to using copyrighted materials and resources.  Knowing this information directly impacts my classroom because I’m aware of copyright law and fair use and I’m able to use that knowledge to supplement my lessons and activities with copyrighted material.  Personally, at times I’m afraid of using certain things so that I don’t infringe on copyrighted material.  I’m now able to use Copyright Clarity to guide me with what I can and cannot use, how to use it, etc., so that there’s no copyright infringement.  By  having a guide to help me with copyrighted material and having clarity on copyright and fair use, I’m able to provide resources to my students that allow them to be future-ready learners.