Legal & Ethical on the Internet

Ethics means doing the right thing.

Why is it unethical and illegal to download music without paying for it?

• As long as you do it only one time, there is nothing wrong with it.

• It is fine to download and share only with your family and friends.

• It is not unethical or illegal to download music without paying for it.

• Downloading music without paying for it is like stealing it from the copyright owner.

Rudy is using 15 seconds of a copyrighted song for a school project. Which law gives her the right to do this?

• Copyright infringement

• Public domain

• Copyright

• Fair Use

Aurora is downloading some music off a public domain Web site, and then posting the music on her own site.

Which of the following should Aurora do when posting the content?

• Only use 10% of the music because it is copyrighted content.

• Obtain permission from the authors of the music.

• Pay a fee to the site from which she is downloading the music.

• Give credit to the source of the music she downloaded.

Igor has found a copyrighted video on the Internet that he wants to use as part of his school project.

Under the Fair Use law, which of the following could he do with the video?

• Use only 10% or 30 seconds of the video, whichever is less.

• Whatever he wants, because copyright laws do not apply to education.

• Pay a fee to the site from which he is downloading the video.

• Use only 10% or 3 minutes of the video, whichever is less.

Chris is planning on using a copyrighted song for a school project.

He wants to make sure he is following the rules of fair use.

Which of the following is an appropriate use of the song following the rules of fair use?

• Chris can use 20 seconds of the copyrighted song for the school project.

• Chris can not use copyrighted songs without written permission.

• Chris must re-record the song using his own instruments and voice.

• Chris must sell his project online and send a portion of the profits to the copyright owner.

Abigail's friend shows her a Web site where she can download any music she can think of for free.

Abigail suspects this is not only unethical but also illegal.

She decides not to use the site herself. Why?

• Downloading music without paying for it is like stealing it from the copyright owner.

• Downloads from the Internet always contain viruses.

• She trusts the sites her friends visit, but does not want to violate netiquette.

• The site does not use secure encryption for downloads.

You are working on a project and you want to include some pictures you found on the Web by a particular photographer.

Which of the following do you need to consider under the Copyright and Fair Use guidelines?

• You can use no more than one picture per source without asking permission from the photographer.

• You can use up to 10 percent of the total collection of photographs without asking permission form the photographer.

• You can use 10 pictures or 10 percent of the total collection, whichever is lower, without asking permission from the photographer.

• You can use no more than 5 pictures from the same photographer without asking his or her permission.

Olaf wants the new version of a popular fast-paced first-person action video game.

He tells you that he has found a place on the Internet to download the game for free.

You know that the game is expensive and copyright-protected.

What is the problem that Olaf is facing?

• If Olaf downloads the file, he must make it freely available for others to download from his computer.

• Olaf needs to ask permission to download the game for free from the authors of the game.

• The game is on a public domain Web site, so Olaf is not facing any problems for downloading the game.

• It is illegal to download or share a copyrighted file without paying for it.

Derrick has downloaded music that was created by an independent artist and posted to a public domain Web site.

What are some of the restrictions on how Derrick can use the music now that it has been posted as "public domain"?

• There are no restrictions on how Derrick can use the music. However, ethically he should give credit to the source if he uses it.

• He must get written permission from the artist if he wishes to post the music to his own Web site.

• It is illegal for Derrick to use the music for anything other than his own personal listening.

• He can only post the music to a social media account if his profile is set to public.

Joe has used seven images by a famous photographer for a class project.

He found the images on a Web site. Joe has credited the photographer in his bibliography.

His teacher points out that Joe is still violating copyright and fair use guidelines.

Why?

• Joe can use no more than five pictures from the same photographer without asking his or her permission.

• Joe should only be using photographs marked "public domain" for a school project.