I never really sat down and thought about the “fair use” law, but when I look back to when I was in middle school and high school, I clearly remember that my teachers broke the laws. Simply, just by using a full length of a movie or copying more than one chapter out of a book and handing it out to us. The instance of using or reproducing someone’s creative work without their permission is violating copyright laws. Copyright laws protect “original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression.” Obviously, if it is noted and made clear where the information is coming from, then that is okay. But, someone so little such as, not stating where the information was found and giving credit to the source, may result in a fine or other charge of infringement.
When I am a teacher, I will have to be certain of not violating any “fine use” laws. When I want to show something of importance from a movie, I’ll be sure to focus on the most important 15 minute section of it. When I need to use a book and refer to it often, I will either have it on the shelf for kids to use (if the budget allows it) or I will suggest the students to make the purchase. There are certainly ways around getting in trouble with the “fine use” laws, but it will require some thought and planning. Through some research, I’ve found out that images can be of original works. A digital image can be an original visual image, a revised image, a published and known image, or a copy of a published known image. Rights to use images will vary, all depending not only on the identities, but of the people who hold the rights of the image. Also through research, I found that with music and for academic purposes other than performance, an unlimited number of copies of that music can be made. I am aware that many teachers do not abide by the “fair use” law, but when I am teaching, I will do my best to not break the rules, only because, if by chance I was being watched or the students would report me, I’d be at high risk of losing my job or paying lots of money. Here is a video which is done by Disney characters, that will help explain and make it more clear about the copyright laws. Enjoy! 
Copyright Issues In The Classroom
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