3 Essential Skills for #Adulting

Copyright guidelines protect creators’ rights by placing limits on if and how a creator's work can be used. Fair Use guidelines allow people to use limited amounts of copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s permission in certain circumstances. 

There are four factors to consider as you decide whether Fair Use applies to a situation:

1. Purpose and character of the use

2. Nature of the copyrighted work

3. Amount of the work being used in relation to the work as a whole

4. Effect of the use on the work’s potential value in the marketplace.

Using work published using a Creative Commons license is a good alternative when Fair Use doesn't apply.  Creative Commons licenses allow people to more easily share and use each others' work by listing which rights creators reserve and waive.