Copyright Scenario Answer Key

In the Unit 4 lesson on Copyright Law and Graphics on the Web students are asked to review and discuss the legality of four copyright scenarios. Following are explanations of the ideas presented in each scenario.

1. While it was a noble gesture on Timmy's part to cite the source of the image, his actions would still most likely be a violation of copyright law. Images do not need to present a written notice of copyright to be protected by copyright law. In fact, it is just the opposite. Images on the Internet are protected by copyright law and cannot be used unless written consent is given by the owner allowing their use. Just because someone cites the source of an image, does not make it acceptable for them to use it. It is a good practice to assume that you cannot use an image unless there is a written statement saying that you can.
2. It was good that Timmy went out and took his own pictures to use on his website. That is definitely the safest way to avoid violating copyright law. These images are Timmy's intellectual property and as such are protected by copyright law unless Timmy expressly grants others the right to use them.
3. Timmy's criticism of Susie was most likely incorrect. While it is true that most images on the Internet are protected by copyright, there are certain websites that allow for use of the images on them. Most images produced or created by U.S. government sources are considered to be in the public domain and do not have usage restrictions on them. It is still important to check for a copyright notice, however, since some images on U.S. government websites may have been created by non-government sources or contractors and are therefore not in the public domain. Most of the time the U.S. government websites do a good job of identifying which images are public domain and which are not. It is not necessarily required that public domain images be cited when used on another website, but it is often requested as a courtesy to cite the source of the images when using them.
4. Whether or not Timmy's use of the images was acceptable depends upon what the final intended use of the web page is. As a classroom assignment, it was perfectly acceptable for Timmy to use the images from the stock photography site without paying since the usage restrictions allowed for educational or not-for-profit use. However, if Timmy's aunt wanted to actually use the website for her restaurant, it would not be acceptable to use the images without payment since that would constitute a commercial use. Unless the appropriate fees are paid to the stock photography company to use the images, Timmy is left with a great class project, but his aunt can't use the pages with the images without violating copyright law.