The purpose of copyright is to promote creativity, innovation and the spread of knowledge according to the US Constitution.
Copyrighted material can be used under certain conditions
Attribution - Cite your sources!
Licensing - Ask for permission and pay a fee is necessary!
Fair Use - Allows you to legally use copyrighted material without payment or permission if it meets several guidelines.
1. Is it transformative? Is the copyrighted material used for a different purpose than originally intended.
2. Is the copyrighted material used for educational purposes?
3. The percentage of the copyrighted material that is used? You can't take an entire song to use for a video you are creating.
4. Will the new work take away value from the old work?
Click here for a video that explains Fair Use.