As a general rule, the author (creator) of a work (text, image, animation, video footage, web page, Java applet, etc.) owns the copyright and has the exclusive right of distribution. You don't have to register your work in order to have it protected by copyright law. At least within the U.S., all "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression" are automatically covered upon their fixation. However, the copyright privileges of the creator may be limited if the material in question was created as a 'work made for hire', or if the copyright has previously been relinquished to a publisher.

Copyright
USE THE COPYRIGHT KIDS DEFINITIONS PAGE!!!
Ok First things first: Copyright and You as Creator of your own work


In the arena of mutlimedia and the Internet, copyright issues and procedures are not set in stone, rather they are developing alongside new uses of technology. However a few things will not change. The most important is that anytime that you create anything totally on your own, you become the owner of your work and therefore the copyright holder. This rule applies to any doodle your draw in your notebook, but does not apply to the copy of Mickey Mouse you drew on your last English paper. Why not? Because you did not create Mickey Mouse in the first place.

When you create something you are the copyright holder. This means that you have the right to:
-ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ distribute copies of your work; 
-ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ perform your work publicly (such as for plays, film, dances or music);
-ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ display your work publicly (such as for artwork, or stills from audiovisual works, or any material used on the Internet or television); and
-ÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊÊ make Òderivative worksÓ (including making modifications, adaptations or other new uses of a work, or translating the work to another media).
Ê
In general, it is illegal for anyone to do any of the things listed above with a work created by you without your permission, but there are some exceptions and limitations to your rights as a copyright holder.Ê One major limitation is the doctrine of ÒFair Use,Ó discussed below.ÊÊ 




Images, Songs, Text and Movies: To Use or Not to Use, Is that the question?


Like we said before, copyright issues when they apply to multimedia, the internet and education are evolving as technology changes.  However some areas are more cut and dry than others. the simple rule of thumb for Public domain  applies for works created before 1923. However even if the work you are copying is in the Public Domain if you get a picture or text or other work from a book copyrighted after 1923 you need to get permission from the author of the book to use the piece that you want. Confused yet! Don't worry read below for our simple guidelines for what you need to do as a ToL Treehouse Builder.

To Use or To Ask Permission:


TO USE:

You may use 




Images:  




Copyright 




At heart copyright rules are meant to protect the



If you would like to use an image for which you do not own the copyright, you must obtain permission to display it from the copyright owner (usually the publisher of the book/journal that the image first appeared in). With some journals, the copyright for published figures and text remains with the author, but for each particular case, you'll have to find out the copyright policy of the publisher. Usually, there is a note about these matters on the publication information page, most often found on the inside of the front cover. If in doubt, check with the journal's publication office or with the editor.





In the future when you submit your work to ToL we will automatically ask you to check off a few boxes so that so that others who come to the site will know what they can do with your work. 

First you will be answer the questions:

- Are you the copyright holder?

- If not, you need to let us know:

	The work is in the public domain: Yes/No
	
	I have received permission in writing from the copyright holder:  Yes/No, 		
	name of copyright holder
	
	I can use the image as long as I put the name of the copyright holder: Name of copyright holder and contact info.
	
 	
 	
Then you will need to tell us:  

I am the copyright holder or the work is in the public domain and without asking for my permission:

Other Treehouse builders can use my work for Tree of Life Projects on the WWW (tolweb.rog) or for classroom and personal use (non commercial use only/not for profit):  Yes or No

Anyone who visits the Tree of Life can use my work anywhere on any WWW site or for classroom and personal use (non-commercial use only/not for profit): Yes or No:




Let's pretend that your class is going to create a web page on frogs and publish it on a ToL Treehouse.  We have permission from our scientific contributors, the scientists who create the branch and leaf ToL pages, for anyone to use ToL images in order to create multimedia content (need to define) to be used on the ToL site.  So as long as you are only going to publish your
 website on the ToL site, using is no problem.
 
 


What if you want to use images that someone from another school has drawn and put on a ToL Treehouse.

When a Treehouse builder submits a work to ToL, we will ask that Treehouse Builder several questions about their work:




SOME EXAMPLES OF PERMISSION YOU MAY NEED TO GET

What if you want to use images that you and your class have drawn too?

No problem, each author has ownership rights to their images.  Your class should discuss the issue of putting their work up on the internet for the webpage, and each classmember should have the right to decide which of their pieces of work they want to include on the site.  It might be helpful for your class to put an agreement in writing.  IN WRITING?


What if you want to use an image you found on a website, in a book or a magazine?


What if you want to use a picture that your uncle took?





You should let your uncle know what you are planning to do with the picture and ask for his permission in writing. Check out sample letters to use in http://www.copyrightkids.org/


When you don't need permssion: Public Domain

What if you want to use some text or images from a book that was published before 1923?

No worries as long as the book itself was published before 1923 the work is in the public domain.

generally, works of the United States government are in the public domain and can be used freely.

More likely, the work you want to use is more recent.  In this case you have two options.  If you want your site to be viewable by anyone who visits the ToL site you should follow the guidelines in the section "material created by others below (PUT IN LINK).  

If you will only be allowing certain other users at other educational institutions to view your site and these users will have a password to view your webpages (for example your school La Contenta High School in Arizona, USA is  creating a web site project to share with a classroom at La Mariposa Elementary School, In Guayaquil, Ecuador) then you can follow the guidelines laid out in the Fair use Guidelines for Multimedia. Because of the more limiited audience for your pages, you can make use of Fair Use Guidelines that may require less of a need for asking for permission for the use of copyrighted and published materials. http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm#1   (take stuff from this and make it understandable)