Copyright Essentials
For Educators©
Nan Myers
Associate Professor
Director for Public Services
Wichita State University Libraries
February 2008
Presentation Outline
 Copyright Protection and the Law
Fair Use and TEACH
Fair Use in a Paper (Analog) World
Fair Use in a Digital World
 Reserves & E-Reserves
 Online Courses
 Blackboard
Coursepacks
And more … audiovisuals, videos, taping, computer
software, scanners, music, multimedia
Managing copyright in educational institutions
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Copyright Protection
Rights of the Creator
 Right to reproduce the work
 Right to prepare derivative works based upon
the work
 Right to distribute copies of the work
 Right to perform the work publicly
 Right to display the work publicly
 Right to digital audio transmission (for sound
recordings)
 Right to assign these rights to others
What works are protected?
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Literary works, incl. databases & softwares
Musical works, incl. accompanying words
Dramatic works, incl. accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audiovisuals
Sound recordings
Computer programs
Architectural works
Timeline: U.S. Copyright Law &
Guidelines
 1790 – U.S. Constitution
 1886 – Berne Convention (U.S. became a
signatory in 1988)
 1909 – Revision of Copyright Act
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28 years plus 28 years
 1976 – Revision of Copyright Act
 Life plus 50 years, Fair Use, Section 108 for
libraries
Timeline, continued:
 1994 – CONFU (Conference on Fair Use):
developing guidelines for electronic
environment.
 1998 – Digital Millennium Copyright Act and
Sonny Bono Term Extension
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Life plus 70 years
 2002 – TEACH Act (Technology, education
and copyright harmonization)
Copyright for Education:
Quick Cues
 Fair Use
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See the Blackboard handout called
“Red Light, Green Light”
 Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act
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See the checklist for TEACH
 Review “Crash Course in Copyright” from the University
of Texas System
http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/Intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm
What is “fair use”
 Portions of a copyrighted work may be used
without the author’s permission for specific
purposes. This is referred to as “fair use.”
 For purposes such as criticism, comment,
news reporting, teaching (including multiple
copies for classroom use), scholarships or
research.
Fair Use
 The “Educational Exemption”
 Encourages education and research
 Permits users conditional rights to use or
reproduce copyrighted materials
Four Fair Use Factors
1. Purpose and character of the use
2. Nature of the copyrighted work (fact vs.
imagination)
3. Amount and substantiality of the portion used
in relation to the work as a whole
4. Effect of the use upon the potential market
for or value of copyrighted work
The Four Factor Fair Use Test is
“Key” – Commit it to Memory
 Weighing and Balancing
 No single factor is determinative
 All four factors must be weighed and balanced.
 Findings as to one factor influence the weight given to
other factors.
 Some factors, the first one in particular, are more
important than others.
 The character of the use under the first factor affects
the weight given the third and fourth factors.
Also factor in “intention”
 “Intention” has three levels:
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Innocent
Standard
Willful
 Damages and court costs may also be levied
against the guilty party
Who is liable?
 “Deliberate infringer”
 “Contributing infringer”
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One who helps
 “Vicarious infringer”
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One who “knows”
 Use of library-owned equipment
 Administrative liability
Fair Use for Faculty
 Make sure the use is for education, and in a
non-profit setting. Use needs to be germane
to the instruction of the topic.
 Make sure you legally obtain the copy.
 When possible, use factual works, but when
necessary, creative works can be used to
illustrate a point or as a basis for criticism or
commentary. You may also use excerpts
from periodicals.
Fair Use for Faculty
 Make sure a copyright notice and complete
source citation appears on the first page of
each copy used, either passed out in class,
placed on Reserve, or posted on Blackboard.
 Unless you are teaching a class on a specific
author, it is not a good idea to use too many
items from one author. Also, you need to
either obtain permission or use another
author after one-time use.
Fair Use for Faculty
 Use of copyright-protected material should
not be a substitute for students purchasing
textbooks or other books readily available in
the market place, such as course packs.
 Your use should not dilute the market or
potential income of the copyright holder.
 Licensing agreements supersede copyright.
For example, computer software comes with
separate licensing agreements that put limits
on uses, precluding “fair use” provisions.
Technology, Education, and
Copyright Harmonization Act
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Distance Education: expands categories of works
Removes concept of physical classroom
Allows storage of copyrighted materials on a server
Permits institutions to digitize works to use in
distance education
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Except when digitized work is subject to technological
protection measures
 Transmission must be limited to students enrolled in
the course for which the transmission is made.
 Transmission must be made by accredited non-profit
educational institutions.
TEACH, continued
 Clarifies that “participants in authorized
distance education courses and programs are
not liable for infringement for any transient or
temporary reproductions that occur through
the automatic technical process of digital
transmission.”
Fair Use in a Paper World
Guidelines for Classroom Teachers
Single Copies for Teachers
 A single copy of a chapter from a book
 A single copy of an article from a periodical or
newspaper
 A single of a short story, short essay, or short
poem
 A chart, graph, diagram, picture or cartoon
from a book, periodical or newspaper
But do not:
 Create your own anthology or book from
“pieces” gathered
 Copy from works that are “consumable” like
workbooks, exercises, tests
 Substitute copying for purchasing
 Copy the same item from term to term
 Make copies of copyrighted, syndicated
cartoon characters
Multiple copies for classroom use
 Can make only one copy for each student in
the class
 Each item copied must be for classroom use
or discussion
 Each copy must include a notice of copyright
(it can be simple)
 Teachers must actually use the copies
Three tests for copying
 Test 1: Brevity
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Poetry – All, if less than 250 words. If longer
than 250 words, only 250 words can be
copied.
Prose – All, if less than 2,500 words. For
other, no more than 1,000 words or 10%,
whichever is less.
Three tests for copying
 Test 2: Spontaneity
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The individual teacher must initiate the making
of multiple copies.
The decision to copy must be close to the time
of use. Otherwise, permission must be
requested.
Three tests for copying
 Test 3: Cumulative Effect
 Copying must be done for only one course.
 Limits – generally 3 or fewer items from a
collective work; 3 or fewer items from one
periodical volume.
 No more than 9 items may be copied in
multiples per course during one class term.
 Currents news articles from newspapers or
magazines are exempt from this.
Copies for Vertical Files
 Illegal to make copies and put them in a
vertical file.
 Acceptable use to include original magazine
articles or pictures cut out of a magazine.
So, remember to review:
 Fair use
 Purpose and character of the use
 Nature of the work
 Amount and substantiality used
 Is use denying income to copyright holder?
 Degrees of intention
 Guidelines of brevity, spontaneity, and
cumulative effect
Fair Use in a Digital
World
Guidelines for Faculty,
Libraries and Other Partners
Is content on the Internet
copyrighted?
 Yes – everything on the Internet (including everything
on the World Wide Web) is copyrighted.
 Documents on the Web (and other digital formats)
are easier to reproduce and distribute, but that does
not change the copyright.
 Digital content is still content – and thus copyrighted.
Copying or reproducing without permission may be
illegal.
Internet, continued
 Notification of copyright status is not required, but
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remember that Web-based materials are copyrighted
just as print and audiovisual materials are.
Large portions of documents, images and Web sites
must not be taken without permission.
Small portions (as with print materials) can be used
by teachers in class.
Many Web pages grant permission to educators
automatically.
If in doubt, request permission to use – usually an email address is posted on the site.
Is linking to something on the Web
a copyright violation?
 No – a hyperlink from one Web page to another is not
a copy of the original work.
 You are not expected to request permission to link to
a Web page, but it is considered courteous to do so.
Reserves & E-Reserves
 The Library and the Reserve Room are considered
extensions of the classroom, and must conform with
fair use principles.
 Who makes the copies? Does not matter – the
Library is the agent of the faculty member who is an
agent of the University.
Reserves & E-Reserves
 What happens to copies at the end of the semester?
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Widespread belief that libraries should not retain a
copy longer than one semester.
Obtain permission for uses beyond one semester.
The faculty member should be considered the
owner of the copy.
Copies for Reserve
 Fair Use permits single copies of a book chapter, an
entire periodical article, or a single poem.
 Multiple copies must be:
 Of reasonable amount for size of class
 Less than six = good guideline
 Each copy must have notice of copyright
 Cannot diminish the market for the original
Materials which may be placed on reserve
without obtaining copyright permission:
 Exams
 Lecture notes
 Virtually all Government publications (there
are some exceptions)
Portions of copyrighted materials that may be
photocopied & placed on electronic reserves:
 A chapter from a book
 An article from a periodical or a newspaper
 A short story, essay or short poem
 A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or
picture from a book, periodical or newspaper
Copyrighted materials that may not be
photocopied or scanned and placed on reserve:
 Pages from works intended to be
“consumable” in course of study or teaching.
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These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test
booklets and answer sheets.
 An entire book, whether in-print or out-of-print
(electronic reserves only)
Length of time photocopied/scanned
materials may be on reserve:
 Photocopies of copyrighted materials may be
placed on reserve for one semester only
without permission
 Permission is required to keep these
materials on reserve for more than one
consecutive semester
When copyright permission is needed:
 When a journal article, book chapter or a
portion of a work is on reserve for
consecutive semesters
 When multiple articles from one issue of a
journal are needed for reserve during the
same semester
 When multiple chapters from a book are
needed during one semester
How to Interpret Guidelines for EReserves?
 This is a major transitional period, with
significant disagreement about the scope of
rights and privileges.
Fair Use for E-Reserves
 1994 Conference on Fair Use
 Draft “Electronic Reserve Guidelines” did not
achieve consensus support, but do provide a
good framework for thinking about fair use in a
reserve context. Yet, they are not the law.
 The “Guidelines” permit placing small parts of
others’ works on reserve for one semester
without permission.
Nature of E-Reserves
 An electronic reserve request will always involve
copying, but will also involve at least one and
perhaps both the performance rights (public display
and/or performance).
 However, it is not a face-to-face performance or
display. It is a “transmission.”
E-Reserves Rules-of-Thumb
 Basically, rely on fair use analyses described for print
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copies & sound and video recordings & photo image
duplication.
Limit access to students registered for the class; or
computers located in specific places.
Don’t reuse the same materials over and over without
asking for permission.
Longer works, such as books, should not be placed
on E-Reserves.
Course packs should not be placed on Reserve.
Online Courses & Blackboard
 1996 – “Fair Use Guidelines for Educational
Multimedia” published by a Congressional
subcommittee on intellectual property.
 You can make fair use of copyrighted digital media
for specific educational tasks under certain
limitations.
 More stringent fair use limitations for digital media
than other media, because digital is much easier to
reproduce and distribute.
What do the guidelines cover?
 Educational material created by faculty as
part of curriculum-based instruction;
 By students as part of assignment;
 As part of conference presentations or
professional portfolios.
What are the limits?
 Time – Use is limited to two years after the
1st instructional use.
 Copying – Every effort should be made to
prevent the consumer of the content from
making more copies. Students should be told
not to make copies. Material should only be
available for 15 days, but can then be put in
Reserve for two years. After that, permission
from the copyright holder is required.
Limits, continued
 Distribution
– must be limited to students enrolled in
the course and there must be “technological
limitations on access to the network and educational
multimedia project (such as password or PIN).”
Limits: Portion (amount of a single
copyrighted work that can be included)
 Media
 Motion media (e.g., video)
 Text material
 Music, lyrics, music video
 Allowable Portion
 Up to 10% or 3
minutes whichever is
less.
 Up to 10% or 1000
words, whichever is
less
 Up to 10%, but no
more than 30
seconds.
Limits: Portion, continued
 Media
 Allowable Portion
 Illustrations, Photographs
 No more than 5 images
 Numerical Data Sets (e.g.,
databases)
from an
artist/photographer, or no
more than 10% or 15
works from a published
collective work.
 Up to 10% or 2500 fields,
whichever is less.
See Handout: “Copyright and
Blackboard”
 Chart of “Red Lights” and “Green Lights” for
most items you would post in Blackboard.
 Checklist for the TEACH Act
Academic Coursepacks
 What is an academic coursepack?
 Collection of materials (usually photocopied)
used in the classroom, distributed either in
book format or as class handouts.
 Commonly offered for sale in campus
bookstores; sometimes sold in class.
 Most publishers grant “clearances” for use of
their books or articles in coursepacks for a
fee. Clearances normally last 1 semester.
 There is no such thing as “fair use” for
coursepacks.
What can be used in coursepacks
without permission:
 Works not protected by copyright, such as
facts, government documents, and works in
the public domain
 Works that you own
 Works for which you have a license that
permits this use
Do not:
 Copy to substitute for the purchase of an
anthology, collective work, or work intended
to be “consumed” in the course of study or
teaching
 Repeat use of the same item from semester
to semester
 Charge students beyond the actual cost of
the photocopying
Coursepacks Rules of Thumb:
 Limit what you photocopy to a single chapter
from a book, or
 Limit to a single article, essay, or story from a
periodical issue or newspaper, or
 Limit to a single chart, graph, or illustration
from a book, periodical issue, or newspaper,
or
 Limit to other similarly small parts of a work.
Coursepacks “Rules” continued:
 Include photocopies of no more than nine
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copyrighted works in a coursepack.
Include a bibliography in the coursepack with
appropriate citation to the original source of each
item in the packet.
Include a copyright notice and appropriate citation on
each photocopy.
If your use is outside the scope of “fair use,” obtain
permission from the copyright owner for each item
included in the coursepack.
Save requests and responses in your personal files.
Audiovisuals
 The same fair use guidelines that apply to
print materials DO NOT apply to audiovisuals.
 Producers worry about unauthorized copies
and unauthorized performances of protected
works.
 Multiple copyrights usually involved, making
permissions more difficult.
Audiovisuals:
5 Fair Use Criteria
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Performance in nonprofit educational institution;
Performance is used for face-to-face teaching;
Performance is presented by instructors or pupils;
Performance takes place in a classroom or similar
place for instruction (including the library); and
 Performance is of legally acquired (or legally copied)
copy of the work.
Videos
 “Home Use Only” stickers on videos are NOT
binding on schools in any way, so long as the
video is not used for entertainment, reward,
or time-filling.
 “Home Use Only” tapes may be used in
instructional situations.
 Rentals may be restricted to home use if an
agreement was signed.
Taping Broadcasts
 From open air (not cable or satellite)
 For instructional use only, under following
conditions:
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Institution retains no longer than 45 days
Use only once with each class during first
consecutive school days of 45-day period.
Cannot record regularly in anticipation of
requests
Taping Broadcasts, continued
 Limited copies may be reproduced to meet
legitimate needs of teachers
 Program recorded in entirety and may not be
altered
 But, programs do not need to be used in their
entirety
 To tape from cable or satellite, must have
permission from copyright holders
Computer Software
 Software piracy = felony status.
 Users are in the arena of contract law.
 License vs. copyright
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Site licenses
 Legitimate copying vs. piracy
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Software can be placed on 1 hard drive
Only 1 copy as backup is allowed
Computer Software:
Direct Infringement
 Downloading software
 Uploading software
 Making software available for download
 Transmitting software files
Computer software:
Indirect infringement
 Contributory infringement applies
 Linking to FTP sites where software may be
unlawfully obtained. Or, informing others of
the sites.
 Vicarious infringement applies
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If you have authority and ability to control the
infringer
If you are deriving a financial benefit
Scanners:
 Original copyright holder holds the right of
reproduction, adaptation and display.
 BUT, a student may use a scanned
copyrighted image in a report.
 Staff members CANNOT scan a cartoon or
article into a newsletter.
 Scanned copies of photographs cannot be
modified in any way.
Mediated Courseware/
Multimedia Productions
 Mediated Courseware: course materials
disseminated through electronic media
 Multimedia Productions: Segments of
materials taken from a variety of copyrighted
sources, such as CD-ROMs, laser discs,
audio recordings, and videotapes
Fair Use for Music Materials
 Permissible:
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Emergency copying to replace purchased
copies which are not available for performance.
Copies of excerpts, so long as they do not
comprise a performable unit; in no case more
than 10% of the whole work.
Purchased copies may be edited or simplified,
so long as this does not disturb the fundamental
character of the work.
Fair Use for Music Materials
 A single copy of a sound recording (tape,
disc, cassette, etc.) of performances by
students may be made for evaluation or
rehearsal purposes and retained by the
institution or teacher.
 A single copy of a sound recording
What are the restrictions?
 Conditions of use
 Length of time they may be kept
 Limitations on size or portion, for ex:
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Motion media—up to 3 minutes or 10%,
whichever is less.
Music, lyrics, music videos—up to 10% of the
original work, but no more than 30 seconds;
and no alterations.
Permissions
 If uncertain, ask permission.
 Make requests far enough in advance – a
month to 6 weeks. For Internet information,
a week should suffice.
 Send request to correct party. Research
through Library of Congress Copyright Office:
http://www.loc.gov/copyright
Copyright Clearance Center
 U.S.-based rights broker: (http://www.copyright.com)
 Has agreements with most standard U.S. commercial
and academic publishers. Sets for the rate structure
and any restrictions on paper copies of each work.
 Also handles digital permissions through its
Electronic Course Content Service.
 Can simplify and streamline permissions.
Managing Copyright in Educational
Institutions: Some Suggestions
 Have an institutional policy.
 Ask faculty to sign a copyright compliance
agreement.
 Have an institution-wide copyright
management program.
 Provide copyright training to educational
technologists who manage files in Blackboard
for professors, departments or colleges.
 Post copyright notices on photocopy
machines, computers and other equipment.
Know Institutional Policies
Wichita State University Policies
Research and Sponsored Programs
http://webs.wichita.edu/inaudit/ch_9.htm
Intellectual Property (rev. Dec. 1, 2007)
http://webs.wichita.edu/inaudit/ch9_10.htm
And, most importantly:
 Train faculty and employees in copyright
awareness.
 Model copyright compliance for your
students:
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Have copyright guidelines for students too
Explain the difference between copyright
violation and plagiarism.
Contact:
 Nan Myers
Associate Professor
Director for Public Services
Wichita State University Libraries
Voice: (316) 978-5130
E-mail: nan.myers@wichita.edu
(The preceding slide presentation is not intended to be construed as legal
opinion. It is derived from publicly available information. However,
the presentation sequence and layout is copyrighted. © 2004-2008)