fair+use+is+important

First off, what //is// fair use? Fair use is “the conditions under which you can use material that is copyrighted by someone else without paying royalties “(wordnet.princeton.edu). Though fair use has a definition that is easy to read, it is a very difficult thing to understand. Fair use rules for students and teachers are very different. The terms of fair use are different depending on who is using the material and what that material is. Generally when one owns a copyright they own the rights to: make copies of their work, distribute copies of their work, perform their work for the public, display their work in public, and make modifications or change their work to another form of media. ([|www.**copyright**.gov)]

Why should i cite my source? Copying someone else's work without permission and without giving them credit is wrong. Therefore asking permission and citing sources properly is very important. There are severe punishments for stealing someone else's work. For example, to create and or share an illegal copy of a video can be punishable by a $250,000 fine or five years in jail, whereas it only takes a few minutes to do an MLA citation.