For educators, plagiarism and attribution are simple concepts to convey to students – you don’t try to pass off someone else’s work as your own. Copyright law, however, is a little murkier. But it’s something educators need to know – not only to keep themselves and their students on the right side of the law, but also to help students protect their work.

In this video, Kerry Gallagher, assistant principal for teaching and learning at St. John’s Prep in Massachusetts, explains that Copyright law really has nothing to do with us as the user. It has to do with the rights of the creator. It’s the legal right of the creator to determine how others can use their original creative work.

Copyright holders have wide latitude in placing restrictions on the use of their work. “You can decide whatever you want,” Gallagher said. “There are no government guidelines about what you decide here, as long as you share it really clearly.”

However, there’s an exception called fair use, which allows the use of a protected work without permission if certain conditions are met. There are four factors to consider: purpose and character of use; the amount of a work that is used; the nature of the work; and whether a person’s ability to make money from their work has been damaged.