Copyright
Law
Summer Crider Loeffler
University of Texas at Brownsville
Summer II July 8-August 12th
EDTC 6340
Ms. Evans and Dr. Sullivan
Contents of Presentation
 Scenarios
where copyright might apply
 Meanings of Copyright, Plagiarism, and
Piracy
 Important Considerations
 TEACH Act
 Legal Facts regarding Fair Use
 Importance of Citations
Scenarios you might face
 You
teach online and you get an email
from a legal corporation saying someone
is suing you for using their photo without
permission.
 You develop a course on your own and
the college hires you to teach. The next
semester, you don’t have that teaching
contract anymore and you find out the
new instructor is using materials from
course you developed.
Copyright means what?

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COPYRIGHT: “The exclusive legal right to reproduce,
publish, sell, or distribute the matter and form of
something (as a literary, musical or artistic work)”
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY: Anything you create is
considered intellectual property.
FAIR USE: Fair use is intended to allow copyrightprotected works to be used for “news reports,
research and education”
PLAGARISM: “The act of using another person’s
words or ideas without giving credit to that person”2
PIRACY: “The unauthorized use of another’s
production, invention, or conception especially in
infringement of a copyright”
Teach ACT

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Q: Why should teachers be aware of copyright
issues?
A: Copyright law provides educators with a separate
set of rights in addition to fair use, to display (show)
and perform (show or play) others' works in the
classroom.
And… in the digital classroom!
The TEACH Act authorizes us to digitize works for use
in digital distance education, but only to the extent
we are authorized to use those works in Section
110(2), and so long as they are not available digitally
in a format free from technological protection.
Source: http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teachact.html
Important considerations
regarding Rights belonging to
the Copyright Owner

The Copyright Act of 1976 grants a number of exclusive
rights to copyright owners, including the:
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reproduction right -- the right to make copies of a protected
work
distribution right -- the right to sell or otherwise distribute
copies to the public
right to create adaptations -- the right to prepare new works
based on the protected work (called derivative works), and
performance and display rights -- the rights to perform a
protected work (such as a stageplay) or to display a work in
public.
Bottom line:
Anything you create is your intellectual property:
literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain intellectual
pieces

-From Nolo:
http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/copyright-ownership-rights-29953.html
Legal Facts of Fair Use


Under the First Sale Doctrine (Section 109 of
the Copyright Act) the physical ownership of
an original work by someone other that the
creator does not entitle the owner the rights
of copyright holder
Copyright Act leaves it up to the individual to
determine, based upon the factors in Section
107 of the Act, whether fair use applies in
each particular circumstance. To avoid a
potential legal challenge from the copyright
holder, many institutions follow a policy of
"when in doubt, obtain permission."
Importance of citations
 Citing
your sources is Fair Use and will
prevent others from accusing you of trying
to plagiarize or not giving proper credit
 “Giving credit to the ideas of others
makes your ideas and proposals more
believable. In addition, you avoid
plagiarism and breaking U.S. Copyright
Law”
Link to Video
 “What

is Copyright?” video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eATwz
Wz1Dzw
Sources
Copyright. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/copyright
Plagiarism. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/plagiarism
Piracy. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster online. Retrieved from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piracy
Copyright Crash Course. University of Texas’ Library http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/#build
Copyright Ownership Rights. Retrieved from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/copyright-ownershiprights-29953.html
Determining Fair Use. (2008). In The Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance. Retrieved from
https://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/fairuse_rules.html
Plagiarism, Citation, Copyright and Fair Use: Citation Formats. (2015). In Jean and Alexander Heard Library
online. Retrieved from http://researchguides.library.vanderbilt.edu/a.php?g=68598&p=444290
“What is Copyright?” YouTube video. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eATwzWz1Dzw