©2013 Copyright. All rights reserved.

      The definition of copyright is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same. This definition is provided here. A few examples of copyright consists of copying a legitimate dvd and copying a work without crediting the author or quoting it.
       Fair use is the exception to copyright, as long as your use qualifies as fair use. For your purpose to qualify, it must be along the lines of commenting upon, criticizing or creating a parody of a copyrighted work. As previously said, an example for fair use would be to criticize a piece of work, copying it even though it is copyrighted.
       In 2012, New York street artist Shepard Fairey, who created the iconic Obama "hope" posters, was sentenced to two years probation due to tampering with evidence. Fairey claimed to use a photo of Obama with George Clooney for the famous poster, when he actually used a close up of the president. He destroyed both photos to cover his lie and created false documents. Fairey and The Associated Press  settled the law suit in 2011 for $1.6 million.
       Public Domain consists of works that are not available for copyright. After copyrights expire, works enter into the public domain. Creative Commons is a nonprofit organization that allows people to share and use creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. Creative Commons gives people public permission to share and use creative work.

Halloween before image, used with permission, Creative Commons