What is copyright?
What does it mean for a work to be copyrighted? Can't I just pass out PDFs to my students?
Answer
Copyright is the legal term for a collection of rights and powers granted to a creator. There are many different types of copyrights, each of which has different protections. A standard copyright includes the exclusive rights to reprint (copy), distribute, transform, or edit a work, and the power to transfer those rights to another. This means that we have a duty not to make copies of protected works except under specific conditions.
These conditions are often referred to as "Fair Use". But fair use is not as broad as we might like it to be: the borders between fair use and copyright violation are notoriously fuzzy, and educational purpose is only one of the considerations.
If you'd like to chat about a specific case you have in mind, please stop by!