(C) News - Research Guides at Ohio Dominican University

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As a user of social media--Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and others--you have rights and responsibilities you may not know about. You may also be losing some of your rights. There are 2 imporant querstions to ask yourself: Who owns the right to use my content on social media? Whose content am I using on social medai, and am I using it legally? Copyright and licensing are key players invovled in answering these questions. In this post, we'll address the first question When you create a written work, musical piece, drawing, or any original creative work, generally speaking, and with some exceptions, you have the right to say if, how, how much, and how often someone uses part or all of if. But that's not necessarily the case with social media. Social media platforms are out there ultimately not to connect people socially but to make a profit. Therefore, as lawyer and msucian Adam Weissman puts it, they're "not always taking your best interests into account." Do you remember agreeing to those Terms of Use in the social media platforms? These Terms of Use typically include accepting a license agreement that grants the platform the license, or right, to use your created content. You can read more about this and some copyright tips for posting on social media in Weisman's article, Who Owns Your Social Media Content? And check back here for another post on copyright in the media that will address the second question: Whose content are you using, and are you using it legally? ...

Copyrights, trademarks, and patents are all part of protecting intellectual property rights. So too are industrial designs and trade secrets, But did you know that they are also important for fostering innovation of new designs, music, books, and anything that we as human beings can create? And that they foster economic growth as well? So let's celebrate this year's World Intellectual Property Day, April 26. Here are a few resources that will give you some more information, as well as a list of intellectual property (IP) "changemakers." Brief information on the various types of property rights Visit the 2024 Gallery of IP Changemakers from around the world For more information, visit the site of the World Intellectual Property Organization. ...

There has been a lot of news and dicsussion about artifical intellgence (AI). The Economist in a recent article predicts that "Generative artifical intellgience (AI) will transform the workplace," eventually affecting 40% of jobs (March 2, 2024), but issues of copyright may impact this. Three issues have arisen in the discussion of copyright and AI, which can be listed in the following three questions:: Is there copyright protection for generative AI outputs? Do works copied to train AI technology infringe on copyritht? Can works generated by AI infringe upon the copyright of works that were used to generate the outputs? These questions are very pertinent to what is currently happening. The U.S. Copyright Office is already receiving and examining applications to claim copyright for AI-generated material, with AI as the author or as co-author. Courts are hearing lawsuits in all three of these areas. For a timelyy and brief overview of trends in the U.S. court system, US Law Week has a pertinent article, "Copyright Liability for Generative AI Pivots on Fair Use Doctrine." For more information and an overview of varying opinons on the matter, the Congressional Research Service has recently published the report, "Generative Artificial Intelligence and Copyright Law." If you would like to read more of the discussion, the Copyright Office collected public feedback near the end of last year. Those comments are available at Regulations: Artificial Intelligence and Copyright. ...

Images & Copyright

Are you using images created by someone else? Make sure they aren't copyrighted and that you have permission to use them. Since November 2023, at least 7 claims have been filed to the Copyright Claims Board (CCB) for monetary compensattion for using images without permission. And of the 7 claims I reviewed that involved images, all the claimants won. One claimant used reverse image tracking technology to find copies of his photos being used online (Hursey v. Lavaca, Docket no. 22-CCB-0056, 2023) The claimant in this case was awarded $3,000 in statutory damges for the misuse of one photograph. The same claimant filed with the CCB against a different respondent in the same month and again was awarded $3,000 for the copying and pasting of one of his photographs without permission onto a web site (Hursey v. Quinney, Docket no. 22-CCB-0163, 2023). So be careful if using others' images! Need to use an image and want to make sure it isn't copyrighted? Here are a few sites to find images you can freely use--but be careful even here, because some also provide copyrighted stock images (clearly marked) that require royalties/licensing fees and permission to use: FreeDigitalPhotos.net Pexels Free Clip Art Library Pixabay Unsplash Creative Commons - these can be used according to individual specifications and limitations, which often include citing the source; be sure to read the licensing policy for each one It is good practice in any case to cite your source even when it can be freely used. You are thereby giving credit where credit is due. For help citing your sources, visit our Quick Reference portal. Just remember, even if you cite the source, if you copy and paste an image make sure you first have permission to use someone else's work. Enjoy the resources above as good starting points for finding easy-to-use images!. ...

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