Learner Description: This Page Is Designed for Use by High School Students

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Copyrights and Plagiarism

Learner Description: This page is designed for use by high school students.

We have all had writer's block at one time or another. It can be very tempting to steal words or ideas from other people. This issue has become an increasingly popular one with the rise of the internet age and the ease of copying and pasting information and/or images. However, this is plagiarism and it is illegal. This page is designed to help prevent the breaking of copyright laws and the act of plagiarism. Before copying anything from the web keep these things in mind:

1.)Assume everything is copyrighted.

2.)Always look for copyright information and terms of use before deciding to use that site as a resource.

3.)If the material is public domain, you can mosy likely use it for your own purposes, but always be sure to cite your source. (Give credit where credit is due!)

4.)If there is a Creative Commons License, follow the guidelines.

5.)If there is no copyright information posted, you should try to seek permission from the author/publisher/site administrator. If you do not hear back, then find another source to use. Do not assume that permission has been granted.

Disclaimer: The information found on this page is for informational purposes of high school students only. It should not be used as legal advice.

Copyright Scavenger Hunt Activity

The following questions are designed to give you a better understanding of copyright laws and how to avoid plagiarism.

Instructions: A scavenger hunt is simply that - a hunt. Below you will see two separate hunts. One hunt is associated with one web page and the second hunt with another. You are to use the provided web source to help you seek out answer to the questions. Happy hunting!

Hunt 1

Public Domain Comic: http://web.law.duke.edu/cspd/comics/zoomcomic.html

1.) Can you use this comic for commercial purposes?

2.) What are "clearing rights"?

3.) If there is no copyright notice, what should you do in order to use that work?

4.) What was the last year that works published were clearly in the "public domain"?

5.)What does "Fair Use" imply?

6.) What did the judge rule in Mattel's Barbie case?

7.) What is the constitutional goal of copyrights?

8.) Why wasn't Harper & Row v. Nation Enterprise ruled "fair use"?

Hunt 2

Plagiarism: http://plagiarism.org/

1.) What percent of college students admitted to cheating at least once in the The Center for Academic Integrity study?

2.) What is the difference between intended and uninteded plagiarism?

3.) What is the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary's definition of plagiarism?

4.) What is a citation?