Chapter 8

Ethics and fair use

Chapter 1: Navigating Information Literacy 1

Learning outcomes
After reading this chapter, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What are general ethics, information ethics and cyber ethics?

• How do ethics relate to intellectual property and copyright?

• How important is copyright for print and electronic sources?

• What is infringement of copyright?

• What are fair use and fair dealing?

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Learning outcomes (cont.)
• What are other legal alternatives to using digital information?

• When is copying of print and electronic sources allowed?

• What is plagiarism?

• How can I avoid plagiarism?

• What are acceptable ways of using sources for work tasks?

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Some definitions
• Ethics – branch of philosophy that deals with human conduct and character.

• Information ethics – looks at the moral values in the information field:

o Right to privacy

o Right of access to information

o Right of information production

o Right to intellectual property.

Image credit: 3D_creation. Shutterstock

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use

Some definitions

• Cyber ethics – ethical and responsible behaviour on the internet.

Image credit: garagestock. Shutterstock Image credit: Rawpixel.com. Shutterstock

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use

Intellectual property rights
• Intellectual property is not a physical thing.

• If I create a formulation for a very long-

lasting, bubbly and conditioning soap, the
recipe is my intellectual property.

• The bar of soap I make using this recipe can

be sold and somebody else may be the
owner of the soap. It does not mean they Image credit: Torsten Lorenz. Shutterstock

own the recipe for the soap – that is still my

intellectual property.

• If I write a book containing my soap recipes,

the content of the book is my intellectual
property and it belongs to me. The book as
physical object may be sold and have
another owner.

Image credit: Sozaijiten

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 6

Exclusive rights

• Only the holder of exclusive rights can use these rights.

• Two categories:

o Patents and Trademarks

o Copyright

• Colgate-Palmolive (example)
https://www.colgatepalmolive.com/en-us/about/history

Image credit: Colgate-Palmolive Company logo:

https://www.colgatepalmolive.co.za

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 7

Patents

Image credit: https://www.businessinsider.com/

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 8

 Patents: Colgate-Palmolive electric toothbrush

Image source: https://uspto.report/patent/grant/10,478,274#D00002

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 9

Trademarks

• Colgate trademark: https://trademarks.justia.com/861/40/colgate-86140417.html

• Palmolive trademark: https://trademarks.justia.com/712/19/palmolive-
71219840.html

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 10

Copyright

• Copyright belongs to the creator or author.

• The copyrighted work must be original. You cannot copyright

somebody else’s work.

• The work must be in material form. You cannot copyright an

idea, it has to be written down.

Image credit: ibreakstock. Shutterstock

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 11

Colgate-Palmolive copyright

Visit the site: https://www.palmolivecleanhands.com.au/

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 12

Copyright in the digital environment

The main copyright issues in the electronic environment

are:

• Software copyright

• Digital Rights Management (DRM)

• Copyright and the internet

Image credit: carmenmsaa. 123rf.com Image credit: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajz93_duObE

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 13

Copyright and the internet example

Grumpy Cat meme sensation

• https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/grumpy-cat/photos
• https://www.complex.com/style/the-funniest-grumpy-cat-memes

Image credit: © Grumpy Cat Limited 2021.

Source: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/grumpy-cat/photos

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 14

Fair use and fair dealing
• The term ‘fair use’ is largely unique to the USA. It refers to using
copyrighted materials under specified conditions, e.g.
commentary, criticism, researching, teaching, etc.

• The term ‘fair dealing’ was coined in the UK, and refers to
reproducing limited portions of copyrighted works for study,
private use, and criticism or reviews.

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use

15
Copyright issues in practice

• When can I make copies?

o Only for private research, private

study or private use

o Only one copy

o Only you may use that copy.

• How much may I copy?

o ‘Reasonable amount’ – typically not

more than 10% of a copyrighted
work

o Check guidelines at your institution.

Image credit: Maksym Bondarchuk. Shutterstock

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 16

Plagiarism

• Presenting someone else’s work as your own, without acknowledging or

crediting your source of information.

• Examples of plagiarism:

o Paying someone else to write your essay for you.

o Using a student’s work from a previous year and present it as your own.

o Copying text from online sources without referencing them.

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 17

Plagiarism detection
• Academic Environment

o Assignments are uploaded to the web through Turnitin, or other tools, and
compared to a vast number of texts available on these databases.

o Punishment is severe and a student may be expelled and banned from

academic institutions for a number of years.

• Workplace

o Similar tools exist for the corporate market, and if found guilty, you may
lose your job and face legal action.

Image credit: https://www.turnitin.com/

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 18

Avoiding plagiarism

• Use your own work by really making sure you understand the topic.

• If you need to use an exact quote from somebody else’s work, indicate it as
such and keep it as short as possible.

• Use paraphrasing correctly, again, by understanding the topic.

• Do not self-plagiarise.

• Cite and acknowledge all sources (more in Chapter 9).

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 19

Summary

In this chapter, we have learned:

• Ethical use of information for study, research and work purposes

• Fundamentals of general ethics, information ethics and cyber ethics

• How these relate to intellectual property and copyright

• Copyright in the print and digital environments

• Plagiarism, its consequences and how to avoid it.

Chapter 8: Ethics and fair use 20