Copyright Guidlines

1. What is copyright?

Copyright is a legal right that grants the creator of an original work the exclusive rights for its use and distribution.

2. What is and what isn’t protected by copyright?

Only copyright holders have the right to grant permission for the use of their work and to earn a profit. Some of their rights include the public display or performance of a work, reproduction of the work, distribution of the work, and derivations of the work (i.e. dramatizations or translations). However, there are various limitations to copyright protection, namely the fair use principle. Fair use allows individuals other than the copyright holder—such as teachers and students—to use part of and sometimes all of a copyrighted work for educational purposes without permission of the copyright holder. Some examples include teaching instruction, reporting the news, making critical comment, or creating a parody.

See questions 7-9 for additional information on Fair Use.

3. How do works acquire copyright?

As soon as a work is created and fixed in a tangible form, a work is under copyright protection and the creator holds the copyright. Registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is optional, but if the creator intends to protect against copyright infringement (i.e. bring a lawsuit), they will have to register for an official certificate.

4. How long does copyright last?

All works published before 1922 are part of the public domain: the public owns these works, not an individual or corporation; anyone can access freely without obtaining permission. Works published after1922 but before 1978 are protected under copyright for 95 years from the date of publication. For example, books published in 1922 will become part of the public domain in 2017. If a work was published after 1977, the copyright for the life of the author plus 70 years.

5. Who is the owner of a copyrighted work?

Copyright holders are generally the original creator(s) of a work or those they authorize (i.e. lawyers). However, if the creator contracts with an individual or organization for a work to be “made for hire” then the individual or organization owns the copyrighted work. In addition, the creator may opt to sell a copyrighted work to an individual or business and then the rights of copyright transfer to that individual or business.

6. How do I know if the work I want to use is copyrighted?

It is fairly safe to assume that traditionally published or broadcasted—printed or audio-video—materials are protected under copyright.

For works located on the internet, visit the original source of content and scroll down to the bottom of the webpage to look for restrictions. You might need to click on links to legal pages usually found here with titles such as “Terms of Use,” “Terms,” “Copyright Information,” etc. Otherwise, a traditional notice should contain the word “copyright,” a “c” in a circle (©), the date of the work’s publication, and the name of creator or owner of the copyright.

7. What is fair use?

Fair use is a principle that allows for the nonprofit educational use of copyrighted materials. Because there are no hard-and-fast rules, applying the fair use principle is a bit tricky.

It’s helpful to keep in mind the four factors when considering whether you are making fair use of material: 1) What is the nature of the use? 2) What is the purpose of the use? 3) What is the amount of the use? 4) What is the effect on the potential market? (Does your use change the original work’s value in the market place?). Applying these fair use principles requires a lot of interpretation but it’s helpful to keep in mind whether the use of copyrighted content was transformative. As yourself: Did I repurpose or remix the content? Did I add something new to the conversation? Transformative applications of copyrighted material can be seen in parodies, commentaries, and reviews.

8. How do I know if I am allowed to use a work in my class?

First, it depends how you want to use the work. If you want to use the work for instruction and not distribution to students or publication to the internet (e.g. reading a copyrighted poem, playing a copyrighted video, showing a presentation with copyrighted images), fair use applies. However, if you publish your presentation with the copyrighted images online, you would be infringing on copyright. A responsible choice would be to select images from the public domain or from the Creative Commons and cite appropriately. Similarly, there are rules for distributing printed copyrighted material. If you wanted every student to have a copy of the poem you were reading, you need to make sure the poem was less than 250 words or a 250-word excerpt from a poem greater than 250 words. See Copyright & Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers for additional applications of fair use.

9. What if I got the work from a Web site?

If a teacher or student acquired a work from a website, it may be used in class only—not reposted on the internet—for educational purposes and with proper attribution. To qualify for fair use, you must check the website’s terms of use for a copyright or Creative Commons license or whether it is part of the public domain to determine how much of the work can be used and how. For example, you may show your class a copyrighted video posted on the internet if the nature of the use is instructional. However, if you wanted to incorporate that video into a multimedia project and post your project online without the permission of the video creator, you would be infringing on copyright.

10. What if I created the work?

If you created the work that means you are the copyright holder and have the right to use and distribute your work however you wish. For instance, if you are adept at making worksheets you could create and distribute as many copies to your students as desired.

11. What if a student created the work?

If your student created the work, he or she would be the copyright holder and possess the same rights of use and distribution.

12. What if the work was published outside the US?

There is no “international copyright law,” however most countries outside the United States offer protection to foreign works under certain conditions of international copyright treaties and conventions. Because protection against the unauthorized use depends on the national laws of a particular country, it is best to check with the statues of copyright law for the country where the work was published.

How does copyright law apply to class multimedia projects?

Let’s say my students are about to read Romeo and Juliet. The story is familiar but an often overlooked and critical perspective is the problematic representation of teenage relationships. I would want to get my students thinking by offering supplementary content such contemporary representations in popular culture of teen relationships, youth suicide, or glorifying dying young. Let’s say I find the perfect song online for background to my Prezi but because the song is copyrighted I am unable to post to our digital discussion forum because I would be infringing on copyright laws. If I don’t have the creator’s permission, I cannot publish the entirety of the song for use, even in an educational setting. Instead, I would have to find a song that is available through Creative Commons or the public domain. Or, I could produce a mash-up of various songs (10% of 30 seconds each, whichever is less), interspersing with quotations from the play (which is part of the public domain) and royalty-free graphics of contemporary representations of teenage relationships. At the end of my multimedia project, I would have to cite my sources with the proper attributions.

To summarize: Multimedia projects that incorporate works downloaded from the internet may not be reposted to the internet unless you have permission from the copyright holder and you provide clear citations.

What are some guidelines for using media appropriately in the classroom?

- Educational purposes do not guarantee permission to copy or distribute work. Remember that fair use is not a right but a legally defensible position. Teachers are still liable for copyright infringement. Evaluate each case individually.

- Any resources you download from the internet must be legally and legitimately acquired. Always check for copyright. Search for media using terms/filters such as Creative Commons and public domain.

- There are restrictions on how much of a copyrighted work you can use in a multimedia project (e.g. 30 seconds for audio or 3 minutes for video). Sources licensed under Creative Commons are free and available to the public but each CC license offers different levels of restriction. See creativecommons.org for more information on licensing.

- Always cite your sources. Modeling appropriate attribution helps students become ethical digital citizens and also learn the process of good scholarship.

- Use media such as video and music for instructional purposes, not as a reward or for entertainment.

References

https://www.ocps.net/lc/east/htc/mediacenter/Documents/FairUse.pdf

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/faqs/copyright-protection/

https://ucomm.wsu.edu/the-internet-copyright/

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl100.html

http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-general.html#mywork

http://effectivecurriculumideas.weebly.com/learning--obeying-copyright-laws-copyright--creative-commons--the-public-domain.html