Copyright Issues in 21st Century Education
Overview
With advances in today’s technologies, where media and teaching materials are readily accessible online, there is increasing concern that educators remain current about knowledge of copyright laws when adapting teaching materials for courses. Furthermore, the differences that apply to the online versus face-to-face classes can cause confusion, especially to a vast majority of instructors new to teaching in the online environment. This workshop keeps faculty up-to-date on current copyright laws, including the appropriate use and application of Fair Use Exemption and the Teach Act, which will later assist you when creating classroom materials and resources.
Handouts
Learning Objectives
After completing this workshop, you will be able to do the following:
What is Copyright Law?
The Copyright Act of 1976 established laws to protect the rights of authors to control the use of original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic or other intellectual works created in a tangible medium of expression (physical or electronic). These rights include authorization to:
Copyright for works created after 1978 automatically expire and fall into the public domain 70 years after the death of the original author. Works created before 1978 generally fall into public domain 95 years from the date of publication. Works created prior to 1923 is considered public domain.
Using Copyrighted Materials
Copyrighted materials can be used by instructors when any of the following conditions are met:
Fair Use is outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, and states that if certain criteria are met, copyrighted works may be used for teaching, research, scholarship, criticism, journalism, parody and similar purposes without specific permission from the copyright holder. The four criteria are:
According to a further publication by the copyright office, the following guideline can provide more clarity to the use of copyrighted works:
1. Test of Brevity The portion of work used compared to the complete work, depending on the type of work. (See Proportion of the work used)
3. Cumulative Effect Utilization of the copyrighted work must not have a negative cumulative effect on the market for the work.
Exceptions to Fair Use
Teach Act -- Online Courses
The TEACH ACT of 2002 (see section 13301 & new roles and responsibilities of the Teach Act) outlines permissive use of digital materials for distance learning courses, provided that the following conditions were met:
With advances in today’s technologies, where media and teaching materials are readily accessible online, there is increasing concern that educators remain current about knowledge of copyright laws when adapting teaching materials for courses. Furthermore, the differences that apply to the online versus face-to-face classes can cause confusion, especially to a vast majority of instructors new to teaching in the online environment. This workshop keeps faculty up-to-date on current copyright laws, including the appropriate use and application of Fair Use Exemption and the Teach Act, which will later assist you when creating classroom materials and resources.
Handouts
- Fair Use Checklist (PDF)
- Fair Use Guidelines (PDF)
- Teach Act Checklist (PDF)
- Teach Act Guidelines (PDF)
- Workshop Presentation (PPT)
Learning Objectives
After completing this workshop, you will be able to do the following:
- Determine whether a work of interest is considered part of the public domain.
- Identify conditions for using copyrighted materials.
- Identify and apply the criteria for Fair Use copyright.
- Demonstrate an understanding of the allowances provided by the Teach Act.
- Demonstrate an understanding for best practices in determining the application of copyright laws in an instructional setting.
What is Copyright Law?
The Copyright Act of 1976 established laws to protect the rights of authors to control the use of original literary, dramatic, musical, artistic or other intellectual works created in a tangible medium of expression (physical or electronic). These rights include authorization to:
- Reproduce the work
- Modify the work
- Create derivative works
- Distribute or display the work in public
- Perform or transmit the work in public
Copyright for works created after 1978 automatically expire and fall into the public domain 70 years after the death of the original author. Works created before 1978 generally fall into public domain 95 years from the date of publication. Works created prior to 1923 is considered public domain.
Using Copyrighted Materials
Copyrighted materials can be used by instructors when any of the following conditions are met:
- Copyright has expired and the work is generally considered public domain.
- Permission for use of the work has been obtained from the original author.
- Use of the work qualifies for the Fair Use exemption.
Fair Use is outlined in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, and states that if certain criteria are met, copyrighted works may be used for teaching, research, scholarship, criticism, journalism, parody and similar purposes without specific permission from the copyright holder. The four criteria are:
- the purpose of the use of the copyrighted work
- the nature of the copyrighted work
- the proportion of the work used
- the effect of the use on the potential market
According to a further publication by the copyright office, the following guideline can provide more clarity to the use of copyrighted works:
1. Test of Brevity The portion of work used compared to the complete work, depending on the type of work. (See Proportion of the work used)
- Article, chapter, story, or essay - Complete works of less than 2500 may be copied, or excerpts of 1000 words or 10% of complete works more than 2500 may be used, whichever is less.
- Poetry - Complete works of less than 250 words may be copied. Works longer than 250 words may be copied up to a maximum of 250 words.
- Motion Media - Complete works related to your teaching may be shown in class. However, for copying clips of a video, no more than 10% or 3 minutes may be copied, whichever is less.
- Music - Provided that the conditions of spontaneity and cumulative effect are met, it is permissible to play a single copy of music to your class for educational purposes, but not for entertainment. For copying, only a maximum of 10% of the original music composition may be copied.
- Illustration - One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.
- Artwork & Images - No more than 5 images or artwork may be copied from the same author, and no more than 10% of images or artwork may be copied from the same collective work.
- Broadcast Media - Off-air recordings may be retained no more than 45 days from the date of the recording and must be shown to students during the first 10 days only.
3. Cumulative Effect Utilization of the copyrighted work must not have a negative cumulative effect on the market for the work.
- Copying of materials is only for one course.
- No more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author.
- No more than three works from the same collective work or periodical.
- No more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.
Exceptions to Fair Use
- “Consumable” works do not pass Fair Use. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test booklets, and answer sheets.
- Repeated use of the same item by the same teacher from term to term is not allowed.
Teach Act -- Online Courses
The TEACH ACT of 2002 (see section 13301 & new roles and responsibilities of the Teach Act) outlines permissive use of digital materials for distance learning courses, provided that the following conditions were met:
- The institution must be an accredited, non-profit educational institution.
- The use must be part of mediated instructional activities.
- The use must be limited to a specific number of students enrolled in a specific class.
- The use must either be for live or asynchronous class sessions.
- The use must not include the transmission of textbook materials, materials typically purchased or acquired by students,or works developed specifically for online uses.
- Only "reasonable and limited" portions, such as might be performed or displayed during a typical live classroom session, may be used.
- The institution must have developed and publicized its copyright policies.
- The institution must implement technological measures to ensure compliance with these policies, especially to prevent the redistribution of the copyrighted material used.
- Once the above are met, resources can be used from semester to semester, unlike Fair Use Guidelines.