Copyright Issues that relates to Fair Use - Online Resources

Copyright is a way to protect someone’s works and it gives them the right to not allow others to use their work without giving them credit. Now a day, most people have access to the internet. The internet allows anyone to search for any information they might need. It is very easy for many people to get information online and use it as their own without giving credit to the author. It is very important to know the limits to copyright and the most important is fair use.

Fair use gives credit to the original artists or authors. For example, if someone copies a song or a movie script from someone else without giving them credit and using it as their own for their benefit, then they are found to infringe. The article “Woman sues Tyler Perry for copyright infringement,” 2008 talks about a woman, Donna West suing an actor-screenwriter, Tyler Perry for stealing her material from a play for his blockbuster movie “Diary of a Mad Black Woman.” She argues that the material that Perry used on his movie was based on her own experiences. Because of this she is asking the jury to award her the profits made from the movie, which is about $50 million. A sibling of West testified and said that when he saw the movie, he already knew what was going to happened because of the play that West wrote and was performed in 1991. This is an example of copyright issues and violations. We should be able to use the information that is accessible to us, but use it the proper way. It is very important to know that there are rules and limitations when using someone else’s work. We cannot just go on using someone else’s work and try to give ourselves credit for their hard work. We all work very hard to find the information that we need and is good to use others work, but is only fair to give them credit for their hard work. Is a great thing to have information available to use when we need it by having access to the internet. Citing the information that we use is a way to acknowledge other’s great work. By not citing your work leads to creating many problems and issues. This is when we see all the lawsuits with different people, organizations, companies, etc.

To me is a good idea to have copyright laws in place. I would not like for someone to use by work and benefit from it without giving me the credit that I deserve. I plan to be a teacher and I would not like for someone else to steal my ideas and introduce them like if they came up with them. Copyright is only a way to help everyone protect their work. Anyone can use the information because the information is available to them, but as long as they cite it correctly. For a project in school to me is always better to start from scratch and as I need information, research it and cite it accurately.

Reference:

Jones, B. (2008, December). Woman sues Tyler Perry for copyright infringement. USA Today. [Newspaper, selected stories on line]. Retrieved September 11, 2009 from the World Wide Web: http://www.usatoday.com/life/movies/news/2008-12-03-perry-copyright_N.htm