To begin, a "copyright" is a legal device that provides the creator of a work or art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used" (Fishman, 2008, p.6). The idea of the copyright is "to advance the progress of knowledge by giving an author of a work an economic incentive to create new works" (Loren, 2000, para.12). Essentially, information originally produced by the author cannot be copied or taken by another person claiming it as their own. Information that can be copyrighted is tangible, meaning that "a verbal presentation that is not recorded or written down cannot be copyrighted. However, anything that is tangible can be copyrighted" (2008, p.3).
In order for something to be copyrighted, the item must be three things. It must be fixed, meaning it is written down, recorded, or stored somewhere physically. The item must be original, whether it's a personal email or a book, both are considered original pieces of work. Lastly, the item must have minimal creativity. This essentially means that it "must include something that is above and beyond the original...that is the original works of authorship" (United States Copyright Office, 2008, p.3).
When considering copyrighting, you must consider "fair use." Fair use is "the most significant limitation on the copyright holder's exclusive rights" (United States Copyright Office, 2010, para.1). You must also take into consideration what the nature of the copyright work is. Is it published? It it work out of print? Is it more artistic or fact-based? The amount of work used also plays into fair use. The more work you use, the less the work will be considered "fair use." The same idea pertains to the originality of the work. The more the new work differs from the original work, the less likely it will be considered a copyright infringement (NOLO, 2010, para.11).
To find more information of the specific terms on copyrighting, please follow the link to this website:
http://www.umuc.edu/library/libhow/copyright.cfm
The copyright logo states that the website has been reserved from 1996-2015 (present day) by the National Geographic Society, and that all rights are reserved. Whenever you see a logo stating "All rights reserved," with the "c" in a circle, the website is copyrighted.
bout their "Terms of Service." As you can see in the photo to the left, the terms of service is a "Legal and binding agreement between you and National Geographic governing your use of service" (National Geographic website, Terms of Service, Para. 1).
There is a registration process that you must go through in order to utilize certain functions of the Service. By registering, you are essentially consenting to the registration of your research and data collected on the website, and that National Geographic is recognized for their work. All of the work posted on the "Service" (the National Geographic website) is owned by National Geographic. This includes, but is not limited to, still images, text, pictorial works, video images, still images of video, graphic designs, audio recordings, multimedia combinations, and computer programs, including web-based programs" (National Geographic website, Intellectual Property Issues, Para. 1).
When you agree to the copyright terms, you agree to the following things:
1) You may only download content that National Geographic designates as offered for you to download for personal and noncommercial use.
2) You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, re-post, or sell any content without authorization from National Geographic.
3) You must maintain any and all copyright or other notices embedded in the website.
4) You must refrain from framing, linking, or mirroring.
5) You retain all of your ownership rights in material you upload, comments you post, or other content you provide.
6) You must notify a designated agent of any copyright infringements made on the Service (website).
There is a designated agent listed on the page that you should contact if notified of infringement. You can notify the agent via mail or email. There is a "Liability" section in which National Geographic states that you are liable for all risk associated with your use of the Service, including links to additional websites that can be accessed through National Geographic.
A section on "Your Conductt" is addressed, in which they state that the Service includes information and opinions from "a variety of individuals and organizations other than National Geographic," in which "National Geographic neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any of Your Content" (National Geographic website, Your Conduct, Para. 1).
In addition, the Terms of Service includes a section on "Indemnification," "The National Geographic Archive," "Educational Use of Content," "Online Courses," "Shopping," "Video Player," and "Miscellaneous."In order to use the website for educational purposes, the Service cannot be used for commercial use, and any information used in the form of a video material must comply with the Terms of Service of Video Players. If a video player is used, a prominent link must be posted that links back to the website, crediting National Geographic.
All pictures featured in this blog post were taken from The National Geographic website. The following link can be used to view the Terms of Service for National Geographic, as well as the pictures used in this post: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/community/terms/
