A GAL'S BASIC GUIDE TO COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE LAWS FOR TEACHERS
📝 RULES 📖
🤔 SPECIFICS 🤓
- The key fair use factors include:
- whether the purpose was educational
- how much of the work was used
- whether it affects the copyright holder's profits.
- You must have acquired the materially legally or have gotten permission to use the material. This includes downloading it legally from a website.
- DO NOT post something back to the internet without permission.
- Always make sure the copyright information is available to see on the copy and to give credit to the copyright holder in your projects.
Memes & GIFs: You can use a single work in its entirety, but no more than 5 images from a single artist. If you're pulling from a collection, you can only use 15 images or 10%, whichever is less. Videos (including feature films): Watching it in class — Teachers can use purchased/rented DVDs and videotapes in the classroom, but the use must be instructional, not for entertainment or reward. Putting clips into a project — Students can only use 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, of any video in a multimedia project. Photocopying of Printed Materials: You can copy: Poems under 250 words, articles/stories under 2,500 words, or excerpts up to 10% or 1,000 words (whichever is less) One chart, picture, or cartoon per book or magazine issue Music: You can use up to 10% of a musical composition, and no more than 30 seconds of any single song in a multimedia project. Digital Pictures Found Online: You can download images for student projects and teacher lessons. A watermark on an image usually means you don't have the rights to use it, and removing a watermark doesn't change that.
TIP: The safest move for digital images or GIFS is to use Creative Commons or public domain sources. Search specifically for Creative Commons-licensed images on sites like Unsplash, Pixabay, or use Google's filtered image search for usage rights.
Here are some links if you want further info! https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf https://ditchthattextbook.com/14-copyright-essentials-teachers-and-students-must-know/
Here is a video that can give you more information!
📝 RULES 📖
Sloane Meier
Created on January 14, 2026
Start designing with a free template
Discover more than 1500 professional designs like these:
View
Project Roadmap Timeline
View
Step-by-Step Timeline: How to Develop an Idea
View
Artificial Intelligence History Timeline
View
Practical Timeline
View
Timeline video mobile
View
History Timeline
View
Education Timeline
Explore all templates
Transcript
A GAL'S BASIC GUIDE TO COPYRIGHT AND FAIR USE LAWS FOR TEACHERS
📝 RULES 📖
🤔 SPECIFICS 🤓
Memes & GIFs: You can use a single work in its entirety, but no more than 5 images from a single artist. If you're pulling from a collection, you can only use 15 images or 10%, whichever is less. Videos (including feature films): Watching it in class — Teachers can use purchased/rented DVDs and videotapes in the classroom, but the use must be instructional, not for entertainment or reward. Putting clips into a project — Students can only use 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, of any video in a multimedia project. Photocopying of Printed Materials: You can copy: Poems under 250 words, articles/stories under 2,500 words, or excerpts up to 10% or 1,000 words (whichever is less) One chart, picture, or cartoon per book or magazine issue Music: You can use up to 10% of a musical composition, and no more than 30 seconds of any single song in a multimedia project. Digital Pictures Found Online: You can download images for student projects and teacher lessons. A watermark on an image usually means you don't have the rights to use it, and removing a watermark doesn't change that.
TIP: The safest move for digital images or GIFS is to use Creative Commons or public domain sources. Search specifically for Creative Commons-licensed images on sites like Unsplash, Pixabay, or use Google's filtered image search for usage rights.
Here are some links if you want further info! https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf https://ditchthattextbook.com/14-copyright-essentials-teachers-and-students-must-know/
Here is a video that can give you more information!