Intellectual Property, Ethics, and Legal Basics
Domain 11: Intellectual Property, Ethics, and Legal Basics
This domain tests how creative work is protected and used responsibly. Expect questions on copyright, trademarks, patents, licensing, fair use, contracts, attribution, and ethics.
Core rules
- Copyright protects original expression fixed in a tangible form-writing, music, images, code, video. It does not protect ideas, facts, or styles. Protection is automatic in many countries, though registration helps enforcement.
- Trademarks protect brand identifiers (names, logos, slogans) that distinguish goods or services. Patents protect inventions that are novel, useful, and non-obvious. Trade secrets protect confidential business information.
- Fair use / fair dealing is a limited exception, not a free pass. Courts weigh purpose, nature, amount, and market effect. Educational use is not automatically fair.
- Licensing grants permission under stated terms. Credit alone is not a license.
- Contracts and releases: get written permission for models, property, music, and collaborators. Clarify ownership, payment, deadlines, and credit.
- Ethics: avoid plagiarism, cultural appropriation, deceptive claims, and unauthorized use. Accessibility and consent are part of responsible practice.
Worked example
A student wants a popular song in a showcase video. “We credited the artist” is not enough; credit does not grant rights. The teacher checks whether a school license covers the event; if not, the group uses a royalty-free track with a documented license. Reasoning: the risk is infringement and platform takedown, and the fix is permission or substitution, not attribution.
Traps that cost marks
- Saying “it’s on the internet, so it’s free.”
- Believing ideas are protected by copyright.
- Relying on a “10% rule” or “educational exemption.”
- Treating credit as permission.
- Forgetting releases for people and locations.
- Ignoring license terms such as commercial use or attribution.