- Ethical Use of Information
- Copyright
- Fair Use
- Plagiarism
- Citing Sources
Copyright
Copyright is a legal issue detailed in Title 17 of United States Code. Basically, U.S. copyright law provides legal protection for intellectual property; it protects the creator of original works (in whatever format including print and electronic, music and art) from others taking credit and/or profiting from the original work without permission. A person need not register their original work with the U.S. Copyright Office for the work to be copyrighted; the original work is protected upon creation by the copyright laws of the United States.
Everyone should assume that any material or resource in any format is copyrighted and therefore protected, unless it is specifically identified as being in the public domain. Only when a work is in the public domain may it be used freely. However, whether or not an information resource is copyrighted or in the public domain, it should be appropriately cited if you use it in a paper, project or presentation.