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Copyright Coach |
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Table of Contents:
 Do I need copyright clearance if I link to information on the Web?
Does continuous use of material require copyright clearance?
How do I know when copyright clearance is required?
What are the copyright guidelines pertaining to online materials?
What copyright guidelines exist for research and publishing activities?
What is the Fair Use clause?
What kind of copyright notice do I need to include on materials I use?
When does Fair Use not apply?
Where can I find copyright guidelines for using music and non-print media?
Hyperlinking does not require copyright clearance.
The following materials do not require copyright clearance for any semester of use:
- Hyperlinks to all copyrighted material available on the Internet. (See additional information about gaining off-campus access to links and information about deep linking.)
- Hyperlinks to public domain material on the Internet or reproductions of any public domain material such as most government documents. (For more information about using public domain material, see http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/).
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Continuous use of material may require copyright clearance.
A key aspect in determining whether or not you can claim fair use of many types of material is tied to the issue of continuous use of that material. For materials listed in this category, be aware that these materials:
- do not require copyright clearance for the first semester of use by a class
- require copyright clearance for continuous use in the semesters immediately following the first semester of use
- must be password and electronic-duplication protected if digital
Additionally, reproductions of materials from licensed databases, such as Lexis-Nexis, are subject to individual contracts. Send questions about individual database contracts to askcopyright@brooklyn.cuny.edu.
Materials covered by these guidelines include:
- Reproductions of short works
- Reproductions of excerpts from longer works. Although the U. S. copyright law does not specify the length of excerpts allowed, common practice among many institutions of higher education including Brooklyn College is to limit excerpts to not more than 10% of the entirety whether in printed or electronic format.
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Sometimes copyright clearance is always required.
The following materials require copyright clearance for all semesters, including the first semester, of use:
- Reproductions of any digital copyrighted material that is not password and electronic-duplication protected. See additional information about password/duplication protection.
- Reproductions of entire long works whether in printed or electronic form.
- Reproductions of multiple parts from longer works. Although the U. S. copyright law does not specify the quantity of multiple parts allowed, common practice among many institutions of higher education including Brooklyn College is to limit parts to not more than 10% of the entirety whether in printed or electronic format.
- Reproductions of works as a collection that could serve as a substitute for a published anthology of works by separate authors or a published collection of works by a single author. See additional information about course packs.
- Reproductions of workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and other published consumable material.
- Reproductions of materials from sources under license or contract.
- Reproductions of materials from course cartridges.
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The TEACH Act address copyright issues pertaining to online materials.
The <a href="http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/pl107-273.html"><strong>T</strong>echnology, <strong>E</strong>ducation, <strong>a</strong>nd <strong>C</strong>opyright <strong>H</strong>armonization (TEACH) Act</a> was signed in to law by the President of the United States in November, 2002. It is meant to address copyright issues pertaining to online materials. Click here to read Dr. Barbra Higginbotham's "<a href="http://library.brooklyn.cuny.edu/copyright/bhteachact.wpd">New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act</a>."<br /><br />
The new law now explicitly permits:
<ul class="dot">
<li>Performances of nondramatic literary works;</li>
<li>Performances of nondramatic musical works;</li>
<li>Performances of any other work, including dramatic works and audiovisual works, but only in "reasonable and limited portions"; and</li>
<li>Displays of any work "in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session."</li>
</ul>
The new law now explicitly excludes:
<ul class="dot">
<li>Works that are marketed "primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks" (commercially produced distance learning materials); and</li>
<li>Performances or displays given by means of copies "not lawfully made and acquired" under the U.S. Copyright Act, if the educational institution "knew or had reason to believe" that they were not lawfully made and acquired (pirated material).</li>
</ul>
Additionally, under the provisions of the TEACH Act, online copyrighted materials must be used as a "regular part of systematic mediated instructional activities" that are:
<ul class="dot">
<li>"made by, at the direction of, or under the supervision of, the instructor";</li>
<li>"directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content"; and</li>
<li>for, and technologically limited to, students enrolled in the class.</li>
</ul>
<em>Adapted from Kenneth D. Crews. "New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act." <a href="http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/copyrightb/distanceed/teachsummary.pdf">teachsummary.pdf</a> (accessed 16 June 2003).</em>
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Copyright for research activities is different from copyright for teaching activities.
Fair Use is interpreted more narrowly in the publishing community than it is in the classroom. Publishers provide copyright guideline for their authors that you may consult. Here is a useful chart for determining what works can be used in your publications without requiring permission: http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/public_domain/
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Fair Use allows educators greater freedom in using copyrighted materials.
Copyright is held for a limited time so that copyrighted works do, in time, come into the public domain. Title 17 of the United States Code, the United States Copyright Act, also places limitations on the exclusive rights to copyrighted material during the time the material is covered by copyright. One important limitation is commonly known as the Fair Use Exemption in the Copyright Act.
The fair use exemption states that fair use is the use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords . . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research.
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It is imperative that you include a copyright notice and citation with all materials you use.
When you copy print materials, please be sure to include all source information. For your convenience, you may use the standardized Print Source Cover Page from the Brooklyn College Library and Academic Information Technologies as a cover page.
When you duplicate/present material electronically, you will be instructed by the software you are using to include appropriate copyright notice and citation information. The copyright notice will be embedded into the document/presentation produced.
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There exist situations where the Fair Use Exemption does not apply.
You are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for any use of materials that does not comply with the fair use exemption, or any other exemption provided by the Copyright Act. Recognizing when you will need to obtain copyright permission often depends on the nature of the material being used and the length of time you will be making the copyrighted material available.
For example, the fair use exemption does not allow for the reproduction of large portions of a work or for making it available for a long period of time, because this can affect the sale of the work (the third and fourth factors of the fair use exemption).
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The MLA provides fair use guidelines for faculty and students using music and non-print media.
These are guidelines for use of copyright material that have been created, approved, or accepted by the MLA or ALA:
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Last Modified: 2008-06-19 12:57:00
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