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Answered: Copyright & Fair Use

Copyright gives a creator rights over a work they create, meaning no one else can use that work without permission.

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Can a yearbook get in trouble for printing famous quotes and lyrics in its advertisement pages?

Because yearbooks aren't created to make profits, using song lyrics or a book quote in a yearbook ad would probably count as educational fair use, so wouldn't violate copyright. 

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Can I use 30 seconds of a Beyoncé song in the background of my video?

No, even if it’s only 30 seconds, its still likely to infringe Beyoncé’s copyright.

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Does a school have the right to use a student journalist's photo?

In general, a creative work like a photograph is owned by the creator of the work, even if they are a student journalist. However, the school might have some rights to use a student journalist's photos, especially if they signed an agreement. 

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

What is Creative Commons? How do you know if something is in the public domain? What does all this have to do with copyright?

There are a lot of ways you can incorporate images, videos, and even music into your videos without violating anyone’s copyright. You could use your own content, content in the public domain, content available through Creative Commons, or content that is someone else’s but your use is fair use.

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Can we use a popular song as background music for a video that will be played at graduation?

You can likely use popular songs as background music in your graduation video because it is a fair use of the songs and no money is made from using the songs.

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

What is Fair Use?

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Can we use pictures of celebrities to make a look-alike page in our yearbook?

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Is using the design of a popular board game as a theme for homecoming copyright infringement?

I’m on the homecoming committee for my high school. We want to use designs and graphics from a popular board game, like Monopoly or Candyland, as part of our theme for homecoming. The homecoming floats would probably copy images from the board game. Our faculty advisor told us this might be copyright infringement. What is copyright infringement? Can we use the board game theme?

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

How do I get a copyright? Do I have to register with the U.S. Copyright Office?

How do I get a copyright? Do I have to register with the U.S. Copyright Office?

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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

Can I use images from Google without getting in trouble for copyright infringement?

I want to use a pic of Kanye I found on Google for my article in the school newspaper. The article isn’t about Kanye, but about T-Swift and her feuds with other celebs. My teacher thinks this might be copyright infringement. Can I use the pic?


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Question | Copyright & Fair Use

What's the point of copyright?

What's the point of copyright?

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