Writing Ethics and Copyright Flashcards
7 cards from real CPW practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Writing Ethics and Copyright flashcards as text
A blogger copies an entire news article, adds a one-line comment, and publishes it. Under fair use analysis, this is most likely:
Answer: Not protected because the entire work is reproduced
Reproducing an entire work, especially when it substitutes for the original, weighs heavily against fair use even if minimal commentary is added.
Which statement about public domain works is accurate?
Answer: They can be freely used, copied, and adapted by anyone
Once a work enters the public domain, it is free for anyone to use, reproduce, adapt, or distribute without permission or payment.
A medical writer employed by a pharmaceutical company is pressured to downplay drug side effects in patient materials. The ethical course of action is to:
Answer: Report the pressure to a professional ethics body and refuse to falsify
Falsifying or minimizing medical information endangers patients; professional writers must prioritize public safety and accurate disclosure.
The 'moral rights' concept, prominent in many countries but limited in the US, primarily protects:
Answer: The author's right to attribution and integrity of their work
Moral rights protect the author's personal connection to their work, including the right to be credited and to object to distortions of the work.
A writer quotes 400 words from a 500-word blog post for a research paper. Which fair use factor is most unfavorable here?
Answer: Amount and substantiality of the portion used
Quoting 80% of a work (400/500 words) indicates an excessive amount taken, which weighs strongly against fair use.
When a writer self-plagiarizes by republishing a previously sold article as new content without disclosure, the main concern is:
Answer: Breach of copyright, since the original buyer may own the rights
If the writer sold all rights to the original publisher, republishing without permission infringes on the buyer's copyright.
Which of the following is an example of a conflict of interest a professional writer must disclose?
Answer: Reviewing a book written by a close friend without disclosing the relationship
Reviewing work by a personal connection without disclosure creates a conflict of interest that undermines editorial objectivity and reader trust.