Copyright

To help you stay out of hot water, we start this page with the NIH Catalyst article, Copyrighting Right, by Stephanie Cooperstein and Christopher Wanjek. You will learn about misconceptions (What is fair use? Can I put that cartoon in my slide show?) and how to address them.

Copyright Basics: Fair Use includes information for determining whether use of content falls under Fair Use guidelines. Expand Exceptions & Limitations to read the section on Fair Use in the United States.

Copyright Law defined in Title 17 of the United States Code. Chapter 1 provides subject matter coverage and scope.

Frequently Asked Questions About Copyright from CENDI, an interagency working group of senior scientific and technical information (STI) managers from 13 U.S. federal agencies.

PMC Copyright Notice provides copyright guidelines for the use of journal articles found in PubMed Central. Included are guidelines for use of the Public Domain journals Emerging Infectious Diseases and Preventing Chronic Disease.

Plagiarism

Wikipedia defines plagiarism as "the practice of claiming, or implying, original authorship of (or incorporating material from) someone else's written or creative work, in whole or in part, into one's own without adequate acknowledgement."

Read the Office of Research Integrity's (ORI) guidance on plagiarism at:
https://ori.hhs.gov/avoiding-plagiarism-self-plagiarism-and-other-questionable-writing-practices-guide-ethical-writing.

Request Consultation

(for NIH Staff) Request copyright or legal guidance from the Office of the General Counsel.

Training

The NIH Library offers NIH and HHS staff a class on Copyright and Plagiarism: What Authors Need to Know. Staff may also request a personal or group tutorial.

Many universities and colleges provide writing center Web sites that may provide additional assistance in defining copyright and avoiding plagiarism. Among them are:

• Cornell University Skill Guides: How to Find Specific Resources
  Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States chart2004-17 Peter B. Hirtle. Last updated 10 January, 2018.
  (Use of this chart is governed by the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.))
• Purdue University (OWL)
  Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)