Legal Question in Intellectual Property in Illinois
I'm a senior researching a book. My sources are websites and a couple of books all of which are copyrighted, The info I'm using are stats not words. Can I be sued?
1 Answer from Attorneys
It is okay to use copyrighted material for educational purposes. You need to cite to each source. The MLA handbook is the standard, I believe, but some schools have different standards. I also believe that the MLA or other handbook has been rewritten to inform you how to cite to websites. Back when I was a student, we just cited a website (if needed) by telling the user how to get there in a footnote or endnote.
You will not be sued for citing copyrighted material in a high school or college paper. If you later publish the paper, you may be sued for royalties.
Good luck with your paper!