What does copyright not cover?
Answer
Facts and ideas are not subject to copyright protection. However, the expression of facts and ideas are protected. For example, you may reproduce basic facts such as the symbol for lead is PB, the capital of Canada is Ottawa, or the square root of 16 is 4. These facts are not protected by copyright.
Similarly, you are free to reproduce the ideas expressed in a copyrighted work. However, you must use your own words or images to express those ideas.
For example, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book entitled The Tipping Point where he presents the idea that small changes can make a big difference. While you may write about the same idea, you are not permitted to use the exact words that Gladwell used as your own. Quoting from a source requires attribution. Failure to provide a source would be considered plagiarism.
Note: This answer comes from the Saskatchewan Polytechnic Copyright website, and provides educational information, not legal advice.
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Comments (2)
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Paraphrasing a source or writing the idea in your own words should still reference the original source.
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Also a simple line drawing like a happy face or a triangle would not be copyrightable since they are not sufficiently original.
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