Copyright Law, Fair Use and Photos

Copyright Information | Photo Usage/Rights of Privacy

Copyright Law: It is the policy of the University of Missouri and University of Missouri Extension to comply with federal copyright laws, including the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

Use of Photos Policy: University of Missouri Extension policy, in accordance with Right of Privacy laws, requires employees to obtain consent to publish from individuals who are photographed. Release forms for photographs

Copyright Overview

Copyright law protects the owner of creative materials from unauthorized use - infringement - of his/her work. U.S. copyright laws protect literary works, musical or sound recordings, and pictorial or graphical designs. Under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, signed into law Oct. 28, 1998, the same copyright protections apply to on-line computer software, music, movies and written works.

Infringement is the violation of any of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner: right to reproduce, distribute, modify, perform and prepare derivative versions of the work. Willful acts of infringement are punishable by statutory damages, and in some instances, may be the basis for criminal prosecution.

Copyright is fixed at the time a work is created. Registering a copyright is not required for protection, and the owner is not required to display the copyright symbol -- ©.

University of Missouri Extension publications must comply with the University of Missouri's Collected Rules and Regulations. The copyright is held by the University of Missouri Board of Curators.

Guidance for Extension Publishers

• Request permission to use any printed or electronic graphics, photographs, cartoons, musical works, text, etc. The lack of a copyright statement does not preclude protection.

• Educational use is not a protection against copyright infringement.

• Contact website owners before providing links to another web page or site. The owner of the site may have restrictions on linking from another site.

• Information on copyright ownership of works created by University of Missouri employees is available at Section 100.030 of University's Collected Rules and Regulations. Works owned by the University should have a copyright notice that reads: © (year) by The Curators of the University of Missouri, a public corporation

• Permission to use materials, in most cases, can be obtained online.

Photo Usage/Rights of Privacy

Right of privacy laws give an individual the right to control the use of their image by others. University of Missouri Extension policy requires that written permission be obtained to use an individual's image in all publications, including web documents and videos. If the subjects are minors, then parents or legal guardians must sign the photo release.

These forms are written in English and Spanish.

• Photo release form for adults (PDF)
• Photo release form for children (PDF)

Note: PDF documents require Adobe^® Acrobat^® Reader^®. Click here to download.

Also see: U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress | Stanford University Copyright & Fair Use | Fair Use of Copyrighted Works, Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems | Copyright Clearance Center Online

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