Beginner
40 mins
Teacher/Student led
+65 XP

Copyright, Fair Use, Plagiarism and Intellectual Property

Explore the rules around reusing content from the internet. Understand intellectual property, copyright, fair use and plagiarism. Sort examples into fair reuse, needs permission, or infringement. Debate a grey case and form your own view on when reuse is fair.

Teacher Class Feed

Load previous activity

    1 - Start ~4 mins

    Illustration for StartYou already know how much of your day runs through apps, posts and shared files. Today the question is sharper: when you reuse something you found online, when is that fair, and when is it taking someone else's work?

    You will sort everyday reuse cases into clear categories, then try a grey case where both sides have a real argument. By the end you should be able to say, in your own words, when it is fair to reuse someone's work.

    2 - Examine and Discuss ~4 mins

    Illustration for Examine and discuss

    Key point

    Before you sort, hold this four-check frame for every reuse decision:

    • Who made it?
    • How much are you taking?
    • What are you doing with it?
    • Have you been honest about where it came from?
    Key point

    Not every case has one neat label. Some are clear. Some are grey. Your job is to reason, not to recite a rule.

    3 - Hands-on: Fair or Not? ~4 mins

    Work the interactive activity on the board together. For each invented situation, drag it into the bucket that fits best:

    • Fair to reuse
    • Needs permission or credit (almost fine: credit is missing or you still need a yes, but you are not claiming it as yours or using the whole work publicly for free)
    • Plagiarism or infringement (not OK as described: you claimed it as yours, or you used the whole work, sold it, or posted it publicly without any right to)
    Key point

    Permission and credit are not the same. When you pick the middle bucket, say which one would fix the card. If a quick ask would help but the use is already a full public or commercial copy, prefer Plagiarism or infringement.

    Tip

    After each drop, be ready to say why, using the frame: who made it, how much is taken, what it is used for, and whether the source is honest.

    There is a defensible home for each card, but if your group disagrees, say what would make you move it. Talking the placement through is the point of the sort.

    Fair or not?

    4 - Class Play: Everyone Answers ~8 mins

    Now the whole class plays the rest, on your own devices.

    How it works

    Join with the code on the board. Everyone answers every round, not one person per table, and you can change your answer until the time is up. You also say how sure you are: just checking, fairly sure, or certain. The class's split appears on the board once the round closes, then the reasoning.

    • Read the item, make your sort, and lock it in.
    • Your table scores when you get it right together, so talk it through quietly first if you want to.
    • When the reasoning comes up, check it against the one you gave.
    The point

    Getting it right matters less than being able to say why. A right answer earns what you staked and a wrong one loses it, so being unsure and saying so costs you very little - being certain and wrong is what costs. Every round has a defensible answer, and the reasoning behind it is what you are here for.

    Class Play

    5 - Hands-on: Grey-case Tribunal ~10 mins

    Now try a case that does not sort cleanly. Work as a class tribunal. Sides are already on the board as you start.

    The case

    Jamie makes a 90-second school project video reviewing a new game. Jamie records 25 seconds of their own gameplay, talks over it with praise and criticism in their own words, and shares the video only on the class learning platform. Nobody is paid. The game company's logo is visible in the footage.

    How the tribunal runs

    1. Half the class builds the strongest case for fair reuse (use the prompts below).
    2. Half the class builds the strongest case against (needs permission / risks infringement).
    3. Each side gives a one-minute argument.
    4. The class names a provisional verdict: fair to reuse, needs permission, or still too unclear.
    5. Together, list what evidence would change the verdict.

    Strongest case for fair reuse

    • Purpose is school learning and genuine review, not replacing the game.
    • Jamie added original commentary; the clip is not posted as "the game itself".
    • The audience is limited to the class platform, not a public channel.
    • The clip is a short part of a longer project, recorded from play Jamie already had access to.

    Strongest case against

    • Gameplay and branding are still the company's intellectual property.
    • Twenty-five continuous seconds is a solid chunk, not a tiny still.
    • Class platforms can be forwarded; "school only" is not a perfect wall.
    • A company could reasonably say it never agreed to this use, especially with its logo on screen.

    Before you finish, check

    • Both sides heard at full strength
    • A provisional class verdict, without pretending there is only one correct answer
    • At least three things written on the board that would move the call (for example clip length, public vs class-only sharing, monetisation, how transformative the commentary is)
    DigitalSkills.org · Online learning platform

    Unlock the full learning experience

    You're previewing this lesson. Get full access to this lesson and hundreds more — each one ready to teach, with interactive activities, printable resources and pupil progress tracking built in.

    Hundreds of curriculum-aligned lessons
    Interactive activities in every lesson
    Printable resources & progress tracking
    Copyright Notice
    This lesson is copyright of DigitalSkills.org 2017 - 2025. Unauthorised use, copying or distribution is not allowed.
    🍪 Our website uses cookies to make your browsing experience better. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies. Learn more