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Intellectual Property Issues

As HPU students you must abide by the Academic Integrity Policies which include plagiarism rules and as future professionals you must be aware of  intellectual property & copyrighted content.

Copyright: Federal law giving people control of how their original works are used. "Works" refers to books, papers, music, images, YouTube videos,  websites,  movies, art, computer programs, etc.  Works are copyright protected from the moment they are created, even if you don't see the "©." Ideas, slogans, short phrases, titles, names, procedures and methods cannot be copyrighted.

Public domain: Comprises all those works that are either no longer protected by copyright or never were. Works published in the U.S. before 1923 or created by the U.S. Government are considered public domain, so they can be used without permission.

Fair Use: Exceptions within copyright law to foment research and creative works. You can use copyrighted works without getting permission IF it's for educational purposes; work is more factual than creative; only a portion of the work is used; and it's not something you would normally purchase. It's okay if limited to the classroom setting..

Patents: Gives inventors the right to monopolize the production of their product for a set amount of time in exchange for public disclosure of the invention.

Trademarks: Identifiers of commercial products or services such as names, words, slogans, symbols, designs, or combination of these elements, which  distinguishes the goods or services of one party from others. The trademark owners rights are indefinite as long as the trademark is properly used and protected by the owner.

Creative Commons: Creative Commons license (CC) allow creators and artist to share, use, and even build upon their created work. The license is flexible and protects the people who use works, (no copyright infringement) as long as they abide by the conditions specified by creator or artist.