Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier

In the landmark Supreme Court case Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier in 1988, the court handed down a decision that gave power to high school administration to censor school sponsored publications. The case involved the high school newspaper at Hazelwood East High School, which had written stories about teen pregnancy and about divorce.

What is Copyright? What is Fair Use?

Often a staff member will want to enhance their video story by adding elements of sound or even someone else’s video work. When this situation occurs, students begin to enter the area of intellectual property rights.

In short, if someone has created a work of music or video, that person owns that creation. If anyone else uses that work without permission, they are violating the rules of copyright. By definition it 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.”

In situations where the fair use doctrine applies, the work could be used. “Fair Use” is the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder.

45 Words

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

For more resources on the First Amendment, follow these links:

Homepage