Whitman Undergraduate Conference: Copyright and Fair Use

Compliance with copyright law is very important when you are sharing your work publicly. Respecting the intellectual property rights of others is part of the Whitman College Copyright Policy. If you are reproducing copyrighted works (images, texts, music, etc.) in your presentation, paper, or poster, you need to either have permission from the copyright owner to share, or to determine that you can claim fair use of that material. There are four factors that make up the fair use doctrine, which permits limited use of copyrighted materials without the permission of the copyright owner. These factors are the nature and character of the use, the nature of the work, the amount of the work to be used, and the effect of the use on the market for the work. Note that using copyrighted materials in an educational setting or for an educational purpose is not necessarily fair use. Correctly citing sources does not make a use of copyrighted materials fair use (although you should always cite your sources correctly!). Please refer to our materials on determining fair use.

For stock images, consider using materials with a Creative Commons license, which gives you permission to use them in various ways. You can search for licensed images through the Creative Commons search, or using a Google advanced search with the appropriate usage rights term. You may also freely use materials that are in the public domain (no longer under copyright protection). Penrose librarians are happy to consult with you about any questions you may have on copyright. Many of our resources on copyright and fair use may be found on our guide to Copyright & IP.