whether you're a local artist composing
your own music or a massive studio
filming the next blockbuster all
creators should understand how copyright
public domain and fair use affect their
work
although these legal concepts can be
somewhat confusing we are here to break
things down into easily understood
language keep in mind that this video
should not be taken as legal advice also
we'll be focusing on copyright in the
United States copyright is the concept
that original works such as writing
photos or music belong to the people who
create them and that you cannot use copy
modify or publish that work without
permission if you violate copyright
it's called copyright infringement and
you may face steep consequences such as
lawsuits or criminal charges the vast
majority of movies music books photos
and other types of popular media are
protected by copyright generally those
copyrights last for the lifetime of the
creator plus 70 years after their death
however the duration of a copyright can
vary due to its publication date and
ever-changing copyright laws when a work
has no copyright protection it enters
the public domain content in the public
domain can be used modified and
published without permission or
restriction this includes all works
published prior to 1923 as well as works
with expired copyrights creators can
also place their content in the public
domain if they desire although you
normally need permission to use
copyrighted material in your own work
there is an exception called fair use
fair use allows you to use brief
portions of copyrighted works without
permission for certain types of use such
as criticism teaching or news reporting
however fair use can get tricky for
instance you may not be able to claim
fair use if you use the copyrighted work
for a commercial purpose or
take too much of it when in doubt always
respect the creator's copyright and use
as much of your own material as possible
to avoid issues although copyright
public domain and fair use can seem like
giant complicated subjects you should
now have a better understanding of the
basics GCF global creating opportunities
for a better life