Copyright and Plagiarism!
Just because something is not under copyright does not mean you can 
use it without crediting the creator! If you use something without giving that person appropriate credit, this is PLAGIARISM!!
Plagiarism is not tolerated at Atrium Health!
Per Copyright.gov, the definition of copyright is as follows:
Copyright: A form of protection provided by the laws of the United States for "original works of authorship", including literary, dramatic, musical, 
architectural, cartographic, choreographic, pantomimic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, and audiovisual creations. "Copyright" literally means the right to copy but has come to mean that body of exclusive rights granted by law to copyright owners for protection of their work. Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, title, principle, or discovery. Similarly, names, titles, short phrases, slogans, familiar symbols, mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, coloring, and listings of contents or ingredients are not subject to copyright. (https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/definitions.html).
Below, please find a PDF of U.S. Code 17:
Per Dictionary.com, Public Domain is "the status of a literary work or an invention whose copyright or patent has expired or that never had such protection." (https://www.dictionary.com/browse/public-domain).
This means that a work that is in Public Domain is available for use without permission from the creator/copyright holder. For example, you may use the novel Pride and Prejudice for a project without permission from Jane Austin (or her heirs) as it is in Pubic Domain. HOWEVER, you should still credit the creators to avoid Plagiarism. If you are writing a paper and use the following quote “I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.” (Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin), you should still reference the work!
Some examples of works that are in Public Domain are:
Just because something is publicly available does NOT mean it is in Public Domain! Always check to see if it covered by copyright!
Fair use is the section in U.S. Code 17 Section 107 which puts limitations on exclusive copyright laws. This is to "promote freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances".(www.copyright.gov) To determine if one is using something under "Fair Use", there is a four-factor analysis that should be applied. Per the Statue, "In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:"
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
There is no set formula to determine if something is fair use (ie, "you can use less than 10% for your instruction and it is fair use" is not true!) The courts will evaluate each claim on a case-by-case basis and the outcome will depend on each individual set of circumstances.
Copyright is the legal method in which people can claim ownership of their creative works. Copyright laws are found in U.S. Code 17 and cover a large variety of creative works including books, music, audio records, video records, websites, and architectural designs. To use these items, one must get permission from the creator and may pay a fee for this. For example, in a recent news story, Stephen King sold the movie rights a short story he wrote to a group of high school students for $1 (https://apnews.com/80bef01d7b134e4091e8d72a47f9dced). The short story was his creation and he was able to sell the movie rights. If the students would have created a movie without contacting Stephen King, they would have been guilty of copyright infringement and fined as much as $150,000.
Plagiarism is the act of using someone else's work or ideas without giving proper credit. If I write a paper and I present all the information I found as my own, that is Plagiarism. Even if I use information from the Federal Census (which is not subject to copyright) and I do not attribute it, that is Plagiarism. To avoid plagiarism, one must properly cite and attribute all intellectual credit. For example, I am writing a paper and state that the 2017 Population estimates for Concord, NC was 92,067.(https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/index.xhtml) If I do not cite that I got this information from the Federal Government Census, this is PLAGIARISM. Even though this information is in Public Domain (information from the Federal Government), I still need to cite the source!
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright:
United States Copyright law governs the fair use of copying materials for research. Please refer to the U.S. Copyright website for more information regarding the rules and regulations regarding copyright. You can also refer to Frequently Asked Questions about Copyright
Copyright protects various types of works, including literary works, musical works, dramatic works, pictures, graphs, sound recordings and audiovisual works. This is NOT a comprehensive list. Copyright laws are defined in the U.S. Code, Title 17 Chapter 1. For a more user friendly breakdown of the U.S. Code, you can view the information on Cornell Law School website.
Plagiarism is derived from the Latin term plagiarius which means kidnapper. If you use someone's work without proper credit (citation), you are "kidnapping" their work. Plagiarism is not tolerated in the academic or professional field.
Plagiarism is "an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author" (Dictionary.com). To avoid plagiarism, every direct quotation must be identified by quotation marks or appropriate indentation. Direct quotations and paraphrasing must be cited properly according to the accepted formation, such as APA. Some examples of plagiarism include:
This is not an exclusive list! For more information about Plagiarism, please refer to the website Plagiarism.org,