The area of copyright law can be confusing. The statutes are broad, especially in the area of fair use. There is no list of specific dos and don’ts. Because the statutes are vague several myths about copyright and fair use have arisen. There are some helpful websites that address some of the more common myths. A good place to start is the BYU Copyright and Licensing Office (http://www.lib.byu.edu/departs/copyright.html ). There you will find several important resources among which are links to a couple of outside sources that specifically address copyright myths. One of the sites is Copylaw.com which has an article by Lloyd Jassin called Ten Copyright Permission Myths (http://www.copylaw.com/new_articles/copy_myths.html )
In his article Jassin addresses the following ten myths:
1. The work I want to use doesn't have a copyright notice so I don't need permission.
2. If I give credit I don't need permission
3. Since I'm only using a small portion of the original work, I don't need permission
4. I don't need permission because I'm going to adapt the original work.
5. Since the work is in the public domain, I don't have to clear permissions.
6. The material I want to reproduce was posted anonymously to an online discussion or news group. That means the work is in the public domain.
7. I can always obtain permission later.
8. The material I want to quote is from an out-of-print book. That means the work is in the public domain.
9. Since I'm planning to use my work for nonprofit educational purposes, I don't need permission.
10. I don't need permission because the work I want to use was published before 1923 and is over 75 years old.
Be sure and look at this helpful copyright information
