Speakers, trainers, creative professionals - content creators of all types - need to be aware of copyright protection when developing presentations, training materials, slides, or handouts. Using another's material can lead to lengthy law suits, expensive legal bills, and large damages payments. Misuse is particularly easy in the Internet age, when copying content, images, video and music is a click away.

Sivasailam "Thiagi" Thiagarajan, Ph.D., founder of The Thiagi Group and author of an array of training materials, sees many instances of copyrighted materials being misused by speakers and trainers. This misuse includes featuring video clips and cartoons in slides or handouts without the owners' permission. These materials are used "frivolously and mindlessly," Thiagi says. "I have seen them being shown at conferences without permission or citation."

Karen Mantyla, president of Quiet Power Inc., a Washington D.C.-based distance learning and professional development company, and the author of eight books after a career with a Fortune 500 company, also sees potential problems for speakers who may use content "nonchalantly."

A general understanding of copyright is a key step to avoiding infringement. Here are the basics:

· Copyright protects original tangible expression. Each term is key. First, the work must be original, not a copy of something else. Second, the work must by tangible, something people or machines can read or see. Third, only the actual expression is protected, not the underlying idea. Protected categories of expression are broad and include the following:
- Publications
- Photographs
- Graphic designs
- Music
- Maps
- Charts
- Tables
- Architectural designs
- Software programs

· Protection exists from the moment of creation. To establish rights, it is no longer necessary to use a copyright notice, such as "© 2009 Mark Partridge," or to register the work with the U.S. Copyright Office. Both are useful, however, and provide benefits, including deterrence and the right to recovery attorney's fees and up to $150,000 without proof of actual loss for each infringement. Many photos, videos, writings and other works now appear on the Internet without notice of copyright, but it is a mistake to conclude that they are free to copy.

· Copyright protection has limits. It does not extend to the underlying ideas or concepts. Content developers can repeat the ideas of others without their permission provided the original expression is not copied. Similarly, facts and processes are not protected by copyright, although the selection and arrangement of facts can be protected. Copyright protection is also limited in duration to no more than the life of the author plus 70 years. Since the lives of Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman exceed that measure, their works are now in the public domain.

Infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is copied without permission. Verbatim copying is not required. Infringement is not avoided simply by changing around or paraphrasing some of the words. It is sufficient that the challenged work is "substantially similar" to the protected expression in the original. The question to ask is "would the ordinary observer think that the second work was copied or derived from the first?"

Copyright infringement should not be confused with plagiarism - but often is. The two concepts overlap: Actions that constitute plagiarism may sometimes also be infringement, but not always. Plagiarism is an ethical concept that involves taking credit for something that is not yours. It applies to ideas as well as expressions and depends on context. Quoting the musical phrases of others in jazz improvisation is common and widely accepted. Stealing ideas without attribution for a college thesis can lead to expulsion. Vice President Biden was forced out of the presidential race in 1988 when it was revealed that parts of his campaign speeches were taken without attribution from British Labor Party Leader Neil Kinnock.

While those who fail to give attribution may be labeled plagiarists, giving attribution for unauthorized copying is not a defense to copyright infringement. In the '90s, Amway reportedly settled a lawsuit regarding the unauthorized use of recordings by Michael Jackson, the Beatles and Whitney Houston in its motivational videotapes for $9 million. Similarly, Texaco reportedly settled a case involving the copying of articles from technical journals for more than $1 million. In both instances, it was not a defense that creators of the original works were obvious or identified.

When in doubt, seek permission from the owner of the original or a non-infringement opinion from a qualified attorney. Although the quest for permission can be confusing and time consuming, Thiagi frequently seeks permission for the use of others' material in his articles and books: "As a general principle," he says, "when I want to use other people's materials, even if just a paraphrase, I ask, I tell them what I will do, give citation and full credit. I usually write and ask permission. Invariably I get permission without cost."