Copyright Awareness

As many of you know, I'm big on copyright awareness. Recently, I started going to college for Multimedia Design Technology with a specialization in Web Design. One of the classes (four hours worth) was on Copyright.

I came away with alot of useful knowledge after those four hours. At certain points in time, you may see me post something from a lab activity I did for class. Those results are covered under the "Fair Use Act" and I will mark them as such.

The whole point of this post isn't to rile up people, or to have people screaming that I am not Copyright Compliant, or any of the hundreds of other nasty things that can be said in the PSP community. It's because I have seen posted somewhere, I can't recall where at the moment, another misconception about "Fair Use". I asked my instructor several times, in varying ways the same question, "When doing this do we have to give credit to the creator?" Everytime, no matter how I asked it, I was told, "No. You do not because this is for non-profit educational purposes."

Now, the difference between me and the "general public", I am enrolled in an accredited college, and the pieces are being used for my educational purposes. I can post them, but I can not use them as a "portfolio" to gain employment.

In the end, I guess what I am saying is this: If you have questions, contact an attorney or and education professional that is knowledgable on the topic. Don't always rely on a company, group or a friend's blog for your information and guidelines.