In A Networked Self, Aufderheide mentioned the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video, which is designed to assist persons with identifying and distinguishing what video material can rightly be published from material that may be protected by copyright laws.  It is useful in identifying certain guidelines that may be the determining factor in these cases. There are four major factors mentioned in this reading that judges tend to use in litigation, the biggest of which is economic effect. This is defined as whether or not the use of the material would “cause excessive economic harm to the copyright owner” (Aufderheide 283). The other 3 factors mentioned are the nature of the use, the nature of the work used, and the extent of the use. These factors combined can be used in most instances to determine whether or not copyrighted material is being excessively abused and stolen.

In The Social Media Reader, Lessig tackles this issue as well, but seems to take a more definitive point of vew. His argument is that some of these copyright laws tend to cripple the ability for new ideas and concepts. He does mention that it is important to cite sources, and that obviously is key, both in the entertainment world and in academia. He is of the belief that at long as you give the original creator credit by citing sources, you have the freedom to take any material you’d like and use it for your creative purposes. I tend to somewhat agree with him, only I suppose it’s a little more difficult when you bring video/visual concepts into the equation. In literary or academic study, it’s sometimes necessary to quote an eact phrase or passage  to capture a thought. This is also true in the news, where editors are known to use “a piece” of a person’s statement to make a headline or story. And by the time it is said and done, the final product is completely different from was originally said by the person being quoted.