Playing Nicely With Others

Okay, it had to come up sometime. COPYRIGHT and FAIR USE. Eek! I was browsing Rebecca Reads and I read her blog entry Blogging and Copyright.. She has found an excellent source about copyright and fair use issues (if you click on the links provided, you can access them directly at her blog. From her site, I clicked on the link from Stanford University: A. Websites: Five Ways to Stay Out of Trouble. In addition, here is the link for Creative Commons Search. This search engine enables you to search for pictures, music, and other items for use on your website. Artists of all types have contributed to the content of Creative Commons so while there are still conditions for an item’s use, there’s a little bit more flexibility. From Creative Commons:

This search service helps you quickly find those authors and the work they have marked as free to use with only “some rights reserved.” If you respect the rights they have reserved (which will be clearly marked, as you’ll see) then you can use the work without having to contact them and ask. In some cases, you may even find work in the public domain — that is, free for any use with “no rights reserved.”

–from wiki.creativecommons.org

And of course, when quoting directly or using material from a book or article, use the standard MLA, APA, Chicago style as appropriate for your study area (for your website or research paper.)

All right. This post isn’t exciting, but it is necessary. A good rule of thumb to follow (especially for images) is to ask the person if you can use his or her artwork on your website. In my experience, when I have asked permission to use images for icon use and the like most people were positive and gave me the “green light.” If you ask permission and the answer is “no” it’s okay to be disappointed. Just remember that there’s lots of stuff that’s free to use and where one person says “no” there’s sure to be another person who says “yes.” All is not lost.

These Links Cataloged
Creative Commons Search is cataloged on the Search Engines page of the Reading Room. A. Websites: Five Ways to Stay Out of Trouble is cataloged on the Research Tools page.