What you need to know about copyright laws

What you need to know about copyright laws With some basic knowledge, you can be sure that your practices are in accordance with the law.

What is copyright? Copyright is the legal right of an author to control the reproduction and use of his works. Copyright law covers all forms of expression that have been recorded in a “durable form. ”

What are the rights of the copyholder? Copyright law provides six rights of protection to the creator of a work. b Reproduction b Public performance b Adaptation or b Public display creation of derivative b Digital audio works transmission of b Distribution of copies sound recordings by sale, gift, rent, lease, or lending

Is anything not covered? b. Titles, phrases, designs, lists, common symbols b. Ideas, methods, discoveries, procedures b. Plain calendars, lists of common facts, charts of measures b. Works that have not been recorded in a fixed tangible medium of expression

• General info Works published before 1923 are in the public domain. b. Most work s created after 1978 are protected. b. The work does not have to contain the old copyright symbol to be protected. b. Works created on or before Jan. 1, 1978 are protected for the life of the author plus 70 years.

“If you can see it, read it, watch it, or hear it--with or without the use of a computer, projector, or other machine--the work is likely eligible for copyright protection. ” - Kenneth Crews, ALA

What is Public Domain? Works that have no copyright restrictions whatsoever-- you can copy, scan, adapt, display, perform, record, and distribute them without restriction.

How do I know if a work is in the public domain? 1. If it is published before 1923 2. You can check the Public Domain Report at <pubdomain. com> 3. You can search the U. S. Copyright Office at <lcweb. loc. gov/copyright>

What’s the big deal? People violate copyright laws all the time. Fines range from $750 to $30, 000 for statutory infringement. Intentional infringement fines can be as high as $150, 000. In 1992, felony status was granted for criminal infringement of a computer software copyright.

It’s a big deal! Not only would the teacher in violation be responsible, but many suits involve everyone from the principal, to the department chairperson, to the superintendent and the school board.

Three types of infringement b Innocent infringement- A teacher makes copies of an article in the public domain but it actually is protected because there are two articles with the same title. b Standard infringement- A teacher makes copies of an article for a class three months in advance of its use without trying to secure copyright permission. b Willful infringement- A librarian tries to obtain permission to copy articles for the faculty and is denied, but makes the copies and distributes them anyway.

It sounds like we can’t use anything! Actually, the law provides special rights to schools and educators that allow special exceptions. This is to promote knowledge and scholarship and though it does provide special exceptions, requires special knowledge of the laws in order to comply with them. It’s called fair use.

What does copyright law say about fair use? b …. the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use of a work is fair use, four factors should be considered.

What are the four tests of fair use? b The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature, or is for nonprofit educational purposes b The nature of the copyrighted work b The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole b The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

On a very simplistic level, this means that the use cannot be for profit, the nature of the work is more factual than fictional (facts cannot be copyrighted-creative works are protected more rigidly), the amount copied is not “too much” (this is a judgement call), and most important, that the use does not deprive the author of a profit.

This doesn’t seem very clear. . . Congress has provided more explanations to help clarify the restrictions. These guidelines are mostly for printed sources. They provide some tests for educational use of copyrighted works.

Congresssional Guidelines b Think brevity (specific length and number of items) b spontaneity b cumulative effect

Can you answer “yes” to the following questions? 1. Is the copying or displaying of the work the idea of the individual teacher? 2. Is the use of the material for maximum teaching effectiveness too close in time to expect a timely request for permission?

SO. . . Basically, the person (teacher) who wants to use the material must be the person who requests the copying. (The principal or your dept. chair cannot tell you to copy and use it. ) This is the “bottom up” qualification. And… You can’t copy something two months or so in advance of the time you want to use it. Fair use duplication must occur too close to the time of actual use to seek permission in time.

A little test. . . Is the following permissible or not permissible? One of our esteemed social studies teachers finds an article in Newsweek that she wants to use. She asks our librarian to copy it for her to use the following week.

Right!! This is permissible because of the timely use of the article and because the teacher who is requesting the copies is the one who will be using them.

Permissible or not? The chair of the Science dept. tells all his teachers to copy an article that he finds particularly relevant and have each student in every class write a summary of its contents.

Right again! This is NOT permissible because the person at the point of use is not the one who had the idea to use the copies.

How about this one? b An English teacher finds a great chart on editing techniques in English Journal. He makes a transparency and shares it with his class the next day.

Correct! This is permissible because the use is timely and the teacher made the transparency for his own use. This would not be acceptable if he stored the transparency for use the following semester.

One more. . . The librarian finds some wonderful educational Web sites and copies them on the library server so that students can use them for future reference.

Right This is not acceptable because the librarian should obtain permission to use the sites on a long-term basis. She has time to seek permission.

Some special considerations b The use of all video, television, and radio must be directly related to the teaching objectives. Any program that is used, no matter how educational, cannot be used without permission unless it relates to a specific teaching objective. The use of these for “reinforcement, entertainment, or reward is prohibited unless performance rights were purchased for the program. ”

So to be safe, don’t show videos that are not in the curriculum. If you want to do so, seek permission from the principal to include it, and make sure you can defend the use of the video. It must match an objective.

Some specific guidelines for printed materials You may copy (or ask someone else to copy) ba single copy of a chapter from a book, an article from a periodical or newspaper, a short story, essay, short poem, chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture.

Multiple copies are ok if. . . You only make one copy per student, you include the copyright notice, you don’t make more copies than you have students, and you actually use the copies for an activity or discussion.

Rules on acceptable use/Brevity Poems- A poem of 250 words or less on one page may be copied. For a poem longer than 250 words, you may still only copy 250 words.

Prose A work less than 2, 500 words may be copied in its entirety. For plays, novels, letters, up to 1, 000 words or 10% of the entire work, whichever is less, may be copied. Regardless of length, 500 word excerpts are permissible.

Exceptions For short picture books, only two pages may be copied if that is not more than 10% of the book. For illustrations, one chart, graph, drawing, cartoon, etc. may be copied per book or issue. You may not enlarge or modify the illustration in any way.

Computer software compliance Software piracy, as of 1992, is a felony offense. Fines of $2, 500 and more are common to those who make unauthorized copies of computer software regardless of whether or not they make a profit.

Two rules that permit copying 1. If the program requires copying for use, such as installing it on a hard drive, copying is permissible. 2. A back-up copy may be made if it will not be used and must be destroyed if the program is sold or transferred.

b The illegal use of software includes both direct and indirect infringement. b Violation may result in prosecution.

Direct infringement involves violation of any of the rights of the copyrighit owner including the following: b Downloading software b Uploading software b Making software available for download b Transmitting software files

Indirect infringement involves contributory infringement-- when one knows that he is assisting or contributing to violation of another’s copyrights. b Posting serial numbers or cracker utilities b Linking to sites where illegal software may be obtained b Informing or aiding others where to obtain illegal software b Allowing illegal sites to appear on the server

Vicarious liability exists for infringement by another person (those in authority who have the ability to control another person) b ISPs that have illegal software or pirate sites on their system b ISPs who have pirate customers b System administrators for newsgroups or chatrooms where pirate activity occurs

How to comply 1. Read the license and documentation and follow the laws set forth 2. Don’t make multiple copies of singleuser programs and install them on multiple machines 3. Don’t install multiple loading software on more than one machine

Some typical examples “A teacher comes to the library to ask to install her personal copy of a word processing program on one of the school computers. She will be using the program at home in the evenings and at school during the day, so only one copy will be in use at a time. ”

This is most likely a violation unless the license makes provision for such uses. It is not acceptable to have the same program on two computers even if they are being used at different times.

“The technology coordinator wants to save some money on the new buildingwide network. In order to avoid the expense of a CD-ROM tower, he proposes to copy the library’s CD-ROM discs onto a large hard disk for access. ”

He should know better!! Copying CD-ROMS onto disks is not in compliance with most software copyright provisions. Some companies will grant permission for this use, however, if they are asked.

A student goes online and downloads a shareware game from the Internet. He makes copies of this and gives them to some of his friends. This is actually permissible because shareware may be freely distributed. The user must pay a fee, however, if he decides to keep and use the software after the trial period.

Follow the law As educators, it is our responsibility to uphold the highest moral standards and to be role models for our students. Be aware of copyright laws and follow them. You owe it to your students and your own sense of moral responsibility.

Any questions? If you have any specific concerns or questions, please write them down and give them to me, and I will be happy to find an answer to your request. Thank you for your interest.

Resource The information in this presentation was obtained from Carol Simpson’s book, Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, which is published by Linworth Publishing of Worthington, Ohio circa 2001.