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Copyright Basics
What goes around, comes around
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Some facts --
U.S. laws define four types of intellectual property: patents, trademarks, copyrights, and trade secrets.
This page concerns only copyright.
A license defines the ways that a copyrighted work can be used. Most often, licenses are integrally packaged with the purchase or rental of software and video recordings. Licenses may regulate the number of installations of software, or the public performance rights of visual recordings for non-educational purposes.
Plagiarism and copyright violation are not directly related. It is possible to cite extensively and still be in violation of copyright.
BASICS FOR EDUCATORS
Jump to: Public domain | Fair use | Guidelines | Library reserves | Non-permitted photocopying | Researching copyright status | Seeking permission | Reproduction for preservation
Keeping a record of research justifying the decision to seek permission, pay royalties, or use the work without permission is always recommended. Research is usually done following these steps in order:
- show that copying is permitted; or
- show determination of public domain; or
- show rationale for applying fair use factors; or
- identify applicable statute for exempted uses; and follow specific requirements for permitted exemptions; or
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obtain permission; or
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purchase the material or pay royalties, as appropriate.
Public Domain
In the public domain are:
- Works with expired copyrights; all copyrights prior to 1906 are expired (American, Model policy)
- Works of the U.S. federal government, with these exceptions: When government publications contain copyrighted materials from other sources, look for a copyright notice and also look for a link to copyright information on Web pages. Works of state or local governments might be protected by copyright. (Butler, p. 23-35)
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In other words, lack of a copyright notice does always indicate that the work is in the public domain.
Fair Use
Educators often cite the Section 107 statute as a rationale for using materials without seeking permission. It is one of several laws that permit exceptions to the rights of owners. All four factors must be considered.
| The four factors are: |
Some favorable uses: |
- The purpose of the use
- The nature of the copyrighted work
- The amount of the work used
- The effect of the use on the potential marker for, or value of, the original work
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- nonprofit educational purpose
- factual, nonfiction works
- small portion only
- use does not compete with market; very important!!
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Key points:
- Educators and students are the primary consumers of academic textbooks and journals. Publishers of educational materials rely on revenue from sales in order to create and distribute new works. If photocopying circumvents purchase of educational materials, it is likely to be illegal and unethical.
- Based upon individual consideration of each component included in a course pack (a compilation of portions of works) payment of copyright royalties via the Copyright Clearance Center or directly to the owner may be required.
- Borrowing material from documents access via the Internet does not free the user from considering copyright.
- Brevity, spontaneous use, and limited cumulative effect during the term of the course weigh in favor of fair use. The U.S. Congress endorsed specific tests for each aspect. (Butler, p. 183)
- Unpublished works are not excluded from fair use consideration; but courts tend to rule that the author has “right of first publication” (Crews, 2006, p. 104)
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Guidelines
Guidelines issued by various groups provide “safe harbor” but they are often more restrictive than fair use. (Crews, 2006, p. 63)
| Some useful, though conservative, guidelines are: |
- Research uses
- A chapter from a book;
- An article from a periodical or newspaper;
- A short piece, whether or not from a collective work;
- An illustration or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper (unless it is separately copyrighted)
- Classroom uses in face-to-face teaching environment
- Distribution of photocopied material does not occur repeatedly (in subsequent academic terms);
- Each copy becomes the student’s property;
- The material includes a copyright notice on the first page of the portion of the material photocopied;
- Students are not assessed any fee beyond the actual cost of the photocopying. (American, Model policy)
The Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes specify the window of time in which the recording must be used before erasing. (Butler, p. 110) Teachers should contact individual networks for licensing policies that may be more generous. |
Library Reserves
Placing an original journal issue or article reprint on reserve in lieu of distributing multiple copies to individual students is more efficient for the instructor and less wasteful of resources. Students can read the material in the library, or make a copy at their own discretion.
Key points:
- Single copies made in accordance with the above guidelines for classroom use are permitted, since learning in the library is an extension of the classroom.
- Multiple copies on reserve should meet the following guidelines:
- The amount of material should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of material assigned for one term of a course
- The number of copies should be reasonable in light of the number of students enrolled in courses which assign the same material
- The material should contain notice of copyright
- The effect of photocopying the material should not be detrimental to the market for the work. The library should own at least one copy of the work. (American, Model policy)
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Non-permitted Photocopying : photocopying that definitely requires permission
- Repetitive copying: The classroom or reserve use of photocopied materials in a multiple courses or successive years will normally require advance permission from the owner of the copyright, 17 USC SS107(3)
- Consumable works (standardized tests, workbooks, etc.)
Researching Copyright Status
Always document the effort to find evidence of copyright, but remember that failure to get results does not necessarily relieve the user of liability.
Seeking Permission
Obtain permission in writing and follow all stipulations in the agreement.
Model permission letters are readily available. These templates outline the typically required elements of a request. Keep in mind that many publishers now provide online forms on their Web sites.
Address requests for permission to the appropriate department at the publishing firm. For photographs and other illustrations in books, look for credits and copyright notices pertaining to individual images. Publishers themselves may have sought permission from the owner, and be unable to grant further use.
Resources:
Copyright Clearance Center
Handles textual materials in print and digital formats only--not audiovisual or graphical works. Most publishers of books and journals register with the CCC. It handles transactions for royalty payments for reproductions beyond fair use, including course packs (locally built anthologies). It is generally possible to estimate the cost before embarking on a project.
“Clearinghouses and other organizations” in Copyright for teachers and librarians (Butler, p. 38-40) Ref KF 2995 B88 2004
Provides contact information for organizations and trade associations where one can seek permission beyond fair use and for public performance regarding: cartoons, images, music, print, religious music, theatrical performances, video and motion pictures.
Creative Commons
Provides free tools for finding and registering with Creative Commons licenses for audio, images, video, text, educational materials, and software.
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Reproduction for Preservation: by libraries and archives
Section 108 stipulates requirements for libraries in order to make legal individual copies of damaged, stolen, and lost items in the collection, and for converting materials from an obsolete format to a usable format, for private study or preservation, in a non-systematic way.
LEARN MORE
recommended readings
REGISTRATION AND RIGHTS MANAGEMENT
... nearly every person in the country today is a copyright owner
Under current law, formalities are no longer a prerequisite to legal protection. However, full protection is secured by using the proper form of copyright notice and also registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, a process that must have been completed before alleged infringement occurred. (Crews, 2006, p. 16-20)
Intentionally releasing one’s rights to a published or unpublished work requires a notice on the work, and Creative Commons provides a convenient and flexible means to do so.
Resources:
Indiana University. Copyright Management Center. Copyright Ownership Issues.
Guidance for understanding ownership issues; securing copyright; managing copyright; and agreements between author, publisher and employer.
United States Copyright Office. Copyright Registration.
Register a literary work, visual art, performing art, sound recordings, serials and periodicals, and mask works (integrated circuits on semiconductor chip).
Creative Commons
We have built upon the "all rights reserved" concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary "some rights reserved" approach. We're a nonprofit organization. All of our tools are free.
“Open access publishing” is related to copyright issues because of the variety of contractual agreements and copyright statements available to authors who use this publishing model. For an overview, see Peter Stuber’s Open access overview.
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LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
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Copyright Law of the United States. Full text of Title 17 and a list of amendments since 1976.
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| 2002 |
TEACH Act. Regulates use of copyrighted works in distance learning; lawful fair use in distance learning. Section 110 applies to higher education.
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| 1998 |
Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Law (PDF) regulates online service provider liability, distance education, exemptions for libraries, computer maintenance, and digital performances of sound recordings.
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DISCLAIMER
The librarians are advocates for fair use, compliance, and education about copyright. The resources on this page are offered as a starting point for learning about registering works, the law and its exceptions, and the complexities of applying the rules to real-life situations.
The college is a community of administrators, faculty, staff, students and researchers who are individually responsible for respecting copyright.
The library maintains policies for reserves, photocopying and document delivery.
REFERENCES
American Library Association. Distance education and the TEACH Act. Washington, D.C.: ALA, 2002? [Web page] Available at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=distanceed&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25939
or printer friendly version (Accessed 11-29-2006)
American Library Association. Model policy concerning college and university photocopying for classroom, research and library reserve use. Washington, DC: ALA, 1982 March. [Web page] Available by scrolling down at http://www.cni.org/docs/infopols/ALA.html (Accessed 11-13-2006)
Summarizes and interprets fair use guidelines. Explains requirements for a legal copyright notice.
Bielefield A and Cheeseman L. Technology and copyright law. New York, Neal-Schuman Publishers, 1997. KF 2995 B54 1997
Butler RP. Copyright for teachers and librarians. New York, Neal-Schuman Publishers, 2004. Ref KF 2995 B88 2004
Good discussion of licensing and consideration of copyright in multimedia presentation. Has decision flow charts for everything. Good summary of registration process.
Creative Commons. [Web page] Available at http://creativecommons.org/ (Accessed 11-30-2006)
Enables the legal sharing and reuse of cultural, educational, and scientific works. Creative Commons is a new system, built within current copyright law, that allows authors to share creations with others and to use music, movies, images, and text online marked with a Creative Commons license. Web site has free tools for finding works registered with Creative Commons licenses, and for registering works in audio, images, video, text, educational materials, and software formats. “We have built upon the ‘all rights reserved’ concept of traditional copyright to offer a voluntary ‘some rights reserved’ approach. We're a nonprofit organization.”
Crews KD. Copyright law for librarians and educations: creative strategies and practical solutions. Chicago: American Library Association, 2006. Ref KF 2995 C74 2006
Good summaries that explain important details, e.g., for fair use and registration.
Indiana University. Copyright Management Center. Indianapolis, IN: CMC. [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/ (Accessed 11-30-2006)
Home page for a continually updated site, developed by Kenneth Crews.
Indiana University. Copyright Management Center. Copyright ownership issues. Indianapolis, IN: CMC, 2006 February. [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/ownership.htm (Accessed 11-30-2006)
Guidance for understanding ownership issues; securing copyright; managing copyright; and agreements between author, publisher and employer.
Indiana University. Copyright Management Center. Copyright quick guide. Indianapolis, IN: CMC, 2006 February. [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/quickguide.htm (Accessed 11-29-2006)
Links to detailed information about fair use, permissions, and copyright ownership.
Indiana University. Copyright Management Center. Section 110: limitations on exclusive rights: exemption of certain performances and displays, Indianapolis, IN: CMC, 2006 March. [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/sec110(2).htm (Accessed 12-01-2006)
Excerpted sections of the law most applicable to distance learning in higher education.
Stuber P. Open access overview: focusing on open access to peer-reviewed research articles and their preprints. Richmond, IN: Earlham College, 2006 March. Available at http://www.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/overview.htm (Accessed 11-29-2006)
University of Alabama. The copyright site. Tuscaloosa, AL: University of Alabama, 200? [Web page] Available at: http://www.thecopyrightsite.org (Accessed 11-28-2006)
This site guides the process of determining if a proposed use is likely to be permitted. Links, FAQs, copyright scenarios, myths about copyright, and ideas for teaching about copyright.
United States Copyright Office. Copyright. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Copyright Office [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.gov/ (Accessed 11-29-2006)
United States Copyright Office. Copyright registration. Washington.D.C.: U.S. Copyright Office [Web page] Available at http://www.copyright.gov/register/ (Accessed 12-01-2006)
Register a literary work, visual art, performing art, sound recordings, serials and periodicals, and mask works (integrated circuits on semiconductor chip).
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