• Fair Use gives the public the right to to use portions of copyrighted materials in some circumstances -- usually for comment, criticism or parody -- freely and without permission of the copyright holder
• Fair use of an image does not mean that you don't have to cite the source of the image, you still need to cite the source!
• Fair use law is somewhat vague and subjective, and cases are decided on an individual basis.
• Educational fair use is not specifically outlined in Copyright Law, but guidelines have been developed that provide educational institutions with some direction. See Educational Fair Use Guidelines for Digital Images.

Image and text used with permission from Jill Markgraf: 
http://libguides.uwec.edu/content.php?pid=104629&sid=789657

Copyright, Public Domain, Licensing, and Intellectual Property

Here is a helpful list of resources pertaining to copyright, licensing, intellectual property, and other related topics for legally and ethically using materials for teaching and research:

• Copyright Basics - from the U.S. Copyright Office's 
• Yale University Library Copyright Circulars -  information from the YUL on copyright, licensing, and intellectual property
• Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States - easy to read chart from Cornell University
• Creative Commons - an organization dedicated to providing flexible copyright for creators who wish to share their works with others
•  The Duke Law School's Center for the Study of the Public Domain (CSPD)
  • Check out the CSPD's comic Tale from the Public Domain: Bound By Law?
•  Free Culture! Public Domain Photography on the Web - a workshop on finding and using public domain photographs online from Yale University Library
• University of California - provides a clear explanation of Public Domain.