Copyright is an important subject that concerns us all. With the benefits of the Internet and the volume of information we download, it is easy to give no credit to those who provided the information in first place. For this reason, Saint George’s School that has a good policy practice, is taking up this subject that it considers fundamental not only in an academic environment but also in everyday life.

What is the meaning of Copyright? ‘Copyright is a term within the intellectual property rights that grants exclusive rights to the creator of original artistic or literary works.’ (Zapata,2001)

There are three types of rights to copy that have to be taken in account when using the quotes. The first is ‘Copyright’ as described above, which is easily recognisable when ‘All rights reserved’ is observed. When this is the case, it is necessary to put the quote in inverted comas and write the surname of the author and year of publication in brackets at the end, e.g. (Bauman, 2013).

The second right to copy is of the public domain. The information can be used by anyone, as either the author has given up his rights or the duration of the copyright has expired (80 years). This right to copy can be used ‘without previous authorization or acknowledgement or payment of fees for access to literary works that previously gave the author exclusive rights.’ (Vega, 2012).

The third right to copy is the ‘Copyleft’, as used for educational purposes with a ‘Creative Commons’ licence. This refers to ‘teaching, learning and investigation in the public domain or for works that have been published without a copyright and provided with free access or have a different use to what the author intended.’ (The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, 2009).

Nevertheless, even if Copyleft and Creative Commons are licences that allow free redistribution of the works, it is still necessary to acknowledge the source. 

Everyone involved in Education should be made aware of the information about copyrights, in order for students to behave ethically and in a responsible way in their academic, professional and personal lives.