COPYRIGHT

WHAT EVERY EDUCATOR SHOULD KNOW

 

 

DEFINITION AND PURPOSE OF COPYRIGHT LAW:

                 

Copyright law (title 17, U.S. Code) provides temporary ownership or exclusive rights to the developers of intellectual property. This allows the developers the opportunity to profit from and protect their work. Copyright owners may be the creator of the work but in most cases the material is owned by the publisher of the intellectual property.

 

Generally, copyright owners have the right to do what they wish with their property.  They also can authorize others to:

1.    Make copies of the work on paper or on cassettes, CD’s, vinyl and all other methods of copying.

2.    Create new versions of the work.

3.    Distribute, sale, rent, lease, lead or transfer ownership any type of copy of the material

4.    Public performance of music, drama, choreography, pantomimes, motion pictures or any other type of intellectual property designed for public or private performance by a group or individual

5.    Public display of artistic works including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work.

6.    Produce sound recordings by means of a digital audio transmission (“not including the sounds accompanying a motion picture or other audiovisual work”).

 

 

COPYRIGHTABLE MATERIALS

 

The majority of original works expressed in a tangible medium, such as paper, CD, hard drive of a computer, web site, pictures can be protected by copyright law. The U.S. Copyright law places copyrightable works in the following categories:

• Literary works
• Musical works, including any accompanying words
• Dramatic works, including any accompanying music
• Pantomimes and choreographic works
• Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
• Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
• Sound recordings
• Architectural works

 

 

NON-COPYRIGHTABLE MATERIAL

 

The following categories do not have copyright protection. Permission is not required to use them.

• Works for which the copyright has expired.
• Works federal government employees produced within the scope of their employment.
• Works clearly and explicitly donated to the public domain.
• Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of expression (for example, choreographic works that have not been notated or recorded, or spontaneous speeches or performances that have not been written or recorded).
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans; familiar symbols or designs; mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring; mere listings of ingredients or contents.
• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.
• Works consisting entirely of information that is common property and contains no original authorship (for example, standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources).

WHEN DOES COPYRIGHT PROTECTION END?

 

Life of the creator plus 70 years is the rule of thumb.

 

For “author unknown”, unknown death date, or corporation work the copyright is in effect for 120 years from the creation of the work.  Work published originally before 1923 in the United States is not copyright protected.

 

To determine if a copyright is in effect use this link to a chart for the guidelines to when a copyright is expired and the material is considered in the public domain.  

 

Click to download chart in PDF form 

© 2004-9 Peter B. Hirtle. Last updated 5 January, 2009. Use of this chart is governed by the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License 3.0   In addition, permission is granted for non-profit educational use, including but not limited to reserves and coursepacks made by for-profit copy shops

 

 

FAIR USE CLAUSE

 

 

To use copyrighted materials under the fair use clause the following guidelines from Section 107 of the copyright law need to be followed. 

• quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment
• quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations
• use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied
• summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report
• reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy
• reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson
• reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports
• incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported

 

Before copying any work consider:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

 

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR FAIR USE:

(These are guidelines not the legal descriptions)

1. Text: copyrighted text - a maximum of 10 percent or 1,000 words; poem -  maximum of 250 words may be used; book - one chapter;  journal - one article.
2. Music and lyrics: Maximum of 10 percent or 30 seconds of a copyrighted composition may be reproduced.
3. Visual images: A photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety but no more than five images by an individual artist or photographer.  Maximum of 10 percent or 15 images of a collective work may be copied.
4. Films and videos: Maximum of 10 percent (approximately three minutes) may be reproduced. 

 

Use the following links developed by the University of Texas to help determine “Fair Use”.  http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm#test

Nolo.com also provides a clear explanation of fair use “The ‘Fair Use’ Rule: When Use of Copyrighted Material is Acceptable”.

 

PLAGIARISM

 

The dictionary definition is the" unauthorized use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one's own original work".  (1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary)

Plagiarism is not copyright infringement but it is taking credit for work that is not yours.  Copyright infringement is an act punishable by law while Plagiarism is an act of fraud.

 

Use the following links as an aid to avoid plagiarism.

Plagiarism.org

What is Plagiarism?

Educational tips on plagiarism prevention

Types of plagiarism

Below is a link from Indiana University:

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/plagiarism.shtml

 

 

PROPERLY CITING SOURCES 

There are two common formatting methods for citations:

 1) MLA-Modern Language Association

 2) APA-American Psychological Association. 

 

Use APA style for works in the social sciences or scientific research and use MLA for works in the field of humanities. 

To compare the two different styles use this link:

Comparison of APA and MLA Styles  (developed by RadfordUniversity in Radford, VA). 

 

The following are links to online citation generators and online guides:

Nauset Public Schools Research and Style Manual Grades 1-6

Nauset Public Schools Research and Style Manual Grades 7-12

The Citation Machine

In addition, many of the new versions of word processing software include reference tasks to assist users in properly citing sources.

 

COPYRIGHT AND MULTIMEDIA IN THE CLASSROOM

 

 

Using multimedia in the classroom is an important development in education.

Some examples of multimedia that can engage today’s students are:

-       video

-       music

-       interactive games

-       photos

-       projected literary works

 

The use of these methods and materials by students and teachers should be encouraged.

Teachers need a basic knowledge of the following things:

-       multimedia material availability

-       How to use them in an ethical and legal manner.

Teachers also need to teach students how to follow copyright law in the use of multimedia presentations by:

-       studying the laws

-       role playing

-       modeling by their teachers

 

It should be noted that while copying a pasting is a time effective and appropriate research method one should make sure copyright rules are followed.

Improper use of copyrighted material in your lesson or presentation is costly.

 (Federal penalties can be up to 5 years in jail and a $250,000 fine)

 

 

LICENSING AND SOFTWARE PIRACY

 

The unauthorized duplication or use of software is Software piracy.

Types of Software Piracy:

 

• CD-R Piracy:  Making copies of software using CD-R recording technology.  “Making copies for your friends”
• Commercial Use of Noncommercial software:  Educational editions sold commercially
• Counterfeiting:  Duplication and sale of software as if it were a legitimate copy
• Hard-disk loading:  When an individual sells computers preloaded with illegal software
• Internet Piracy:   Downloading commercial software from the internet
• OEM Piracy/Unbundling:  Software shipped with hardware is separated and sold.  (OEM software is not for resale— it's linked to the hardware
• Renting:  Renting software for temporary use—Illegal by 1990 Software Rental Amendment Act
• Softlifting:  When a person purchases single-license copy but loads it on several machine
• Unrestricted Client Access:  Copy resides on server where clients are allowed to freely access software

 

Authorization must be in writing from the copyright owner. This includes the use of software on multiple computers.

DO NOT MAKE COPIES OR ALLOW MULTIPLE USERS SIMULTANEOUS ACCESS TO THE SOFTWARE.

 

TEACH ACT

 

In 2002 the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH) was signed into law.  This act extends existing copyright laws for distance learning or digital classroom environments.  These type of courses may use and transmit copyrighted materials as a part of the course when certain criteria are met. The American Library Association web site cites the following conditions where copyrighted material may be used.

 

Distance Education and the TEACH Act.

 

1.  “The benefits of the TEACH Act apply only to a ‘government body or an accredited nonprofit educational institution.’"
2. “The educational institution must ‘institute policies regarding copyright.’"
3. “The institution must ‘provide informational materials’ regarding copyright. These materials must ‘accurately describe, and promote compliance with, the laws of United States relating to copyright.’"
4. “In addition to the general distribution of informational materials, the institution must provide ‘notice to students that materials used in connection with the course may be subject to copyright protection.’"
5. “The transmission of content must be made ‘solely for . . . students officially enrolled in the course for which the transmission is made.’"

 

These institutional guidelines as well as guidelines for Information Technology personnel, Instructors and Librarians can be accessed at http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=distanceed&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25939.

 

WEB AND WIKI PUBLISHING

 

One of the newest developments in education is the use of web and wiki publishing.

This allows student and educator developed work to reach a larger audience.

One must always remember that what goes on the internet stays on the internet and accessible to people worldwide. Therefore it is necessary to make double sure that laws, rules and guidelines are followed. Because it is accessible world wide, the “fair use” clause may be invalidated since people who are not enrolled in the class have access to the material.  There is a question about “educational purposes” when people who aren’t your students have access to the material.

 

For more information, follow the links below:

Nolo.com “Getting Permission to Publish: Ten Tips for Webmasters”

 

 PDF and Text files of the Title 17, U.S. Code

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/

 

Taking the Mystery out of Copyright

Library of Congress