Page 127 - Between One and Many The Art and Science of Public Speaking

Speaking of . . .

Copyright
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In addition to the ethical issues of source attribution, there is mission to distribute.” In fact, many networks have asked
a legal issue as well. Most of the materials you fi nd to sup- YouTube to remove content they believed infringed on their
port your speech, whether in books, periodicals, or on the copyright.
Internet, are protected by the copyright laws of the United So how can you avoid copyright infringement? First,
States, even if they do not carry a copyright notice. This is keep quotations brief and to the point. This is good advice
a complex topic. Although we are not lawyers, there are for a speech in any event. As long as it’s in a classroom
several guidelines that we recommend you follow in your situation, you should be fi ne. Second, with photos, limit
speeches. your use to public domain sites. For example, photos from
First, short quotations or other excerpts are generally government agencies such as NASA are not copyrighted. If
considered “fair use” under the law. According to the U.S. you can’t fi nd such photos, consider using ones you have
Copyright Offi ce’s Web site, fair use for “purposes such taken. For example, one student gave a speech on modern
as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including dairy methods and illustrated her speech with photos from
multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, our university farm. Third, if you are using PowerPoint and
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is not an infringement of copyright.” You should still ac- are connected to the Internet, you may be able to put a hy-
knowledge the source, both in your written outline and orally perlink in your presentation, so that the material viewed is
during your speech. directly from the site that created the content. Thus, rather
Second, just because something is on the Internet than showing a clip of The Daily Show from YouTube, go to
doesn't mean it’s not protected by copyright. For example, the Comedy Central Web site itself.
the popular search engine Google has a feature that allows When you leave the university and enter the workforce,
you to search for images. These can liven up a speech when the fair use exemption related to teaching will no longer ap-
shown with PowerPoint™. But, beware, because many of ply. Learning the importance of respecting copyrights is im-
the images you fi nd may be protected. Google states on portant, not only ethically, but also to success in your career.
its Web site: “The images identifi ed by the Google Image In short, the best advice is when in doubt, leave it out. And
Search service may be protected by copyrights. Although if you absolutely must use something that is copyrighted in
you can locate and access the images through our service, your speech, seek and obtain permission.
we cannot grant you any rights to use them for any purpose
other than viewing them on the web. Accordingly, if you
1 United States Copyright Offi ce, Copyright Law of the United
would like to use any images you have found through our
States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of
service, we advise you to contact the site owner to obtain
the United States Code Circular 92 (n.d.) [Retrieved from http://
the requisite permissions.” 2 www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#101, 25 November
Third, be particularly cautious about the use of video 2006.]
from Web sites such as YouTube. As noted on the site “It 2 Google.com, “About Image Search: Frequently Asked Questions,”
doesn’t matter how long or short the clip is, or exactly how 2005. [Retrieved from http://www.google.com/help/faq_images
it got to YouTube. If you taped it off cable, videotaped your .html, 26 November 2006.]
TV screen, or downloaded it from some other website, it is 3 YouTube, “Copyright Tips,” 2006. Retrieved from http://www
still copyrighted, and requires the copyright owner’s per- .youtube.com/t/howto_copyright, 26 November 2006.]

Revealing or Concealing Intentions

One of the thorniest issues you face as a speaker is whether or not to reveal your
intentions to your audience. Sometimes, to begin your speech by announcing a
position that you know your audience drastically opposes is to deny yourself the
opportunity to be heard. On the other hand, to conceal your true intentions can
be unethical, particularly if those intentions violate what the audience perceives
as its best interests. In some ways, this decision may require the application of
“situational ethics.” Consider a couple of examples.
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