What
is copyright?
Are only
works showing the copyright symbol copyrighted?
What are some examples of materials that are protected by copyright?
The copyright holder has rights to each of the following:
The copyright lasts the life of the author plus 70 years. For additional information: Copyright Basics, US Copyright Office Hall Davidson’s “The Educator’s Lean, Mean, No-Fat guide to Fair-Use,” Technology and Learning Is there anything not copyrighted and free to use? Any public domain works. Examples are:
Gasaway, Lolly. “When Works Pass Into the Public Domain.” What is “Fair Use?” An exception to the exclusive rights of a copyright holder. Why have
fair use?
Educators may use copyrighted materials in a face-to-face teaching situation. Copyrighted materials must relate directly to the curriculum being taught for a one time, short notice use. What are
the fair use guidelines?
Yes, but the copies can only be used once. If the teacher wants to use the materials again in subsequent teaching, the author must grant permission. The teacher needs to keep record of the permission granted. What about
copies of materials used as a resource for preparing a lesson?
For additional information: Copyright Crash Course – University of Texas Digital Library. "Guidelines For Classroom Copying of Books and Periodicals." Copyright Crash Course – University of Texas Digital Library. “Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials.” What about including multimedia works in a multimedia project? Guidelines allow only the following or less may be used:
No. According to the Harlingen CISD Acceptable Use Policy, no downloading is permitted by a District employee or student using District technology. Harlingen CISD AUPWhat is an example of wording for a multimedia disclaimer? Certain materials are included under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law and have been prepared according to the multimedia fair use guidelines and are restricted from further use. Is there
a limit to the number of copies that can be made of the multimedia presentation?
For additional information: Educational Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines Development Committee. “Fair Use Guidelines For Educational Multimedia.” http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm#2 When using the Internet for research, how do I know if something is copyrighted? Each document or image found on the Internet is copyrighted and the author is not required to give notice of copyright notice. Examples of Internet resources are:
How are Internet resources cited? There are several ways to cite sources (i.e. ALA, MLA). HCISD uses Classroom Connect’s style, with their permission. A link to their site may be found on HCISD’s Virtual Library Information Center in the Other Resources category. Also, a direct link to their site is listed below. For additional information: Classroom Connect. “Citing Internet Resources.” What about placing materials created under fair use guidelines on the World Wide Web? Since the World Wide Web is not confined to the four walls of a classroom for face-to-face instruction, fair use does not apply. Therefore, there are no fair use exemptions for educators using copyrighted materials, without the author’s permission, when posting to the Internet. The reason for this is because once the material, prepared under the fair use guidelines, is on the Internet, the teacher no longer has control over how the information is used. Does this
mean I have to get permission from the author to use information on the
Internet?
For additional information: North Carolina Department of Public Schools. “Copyright in an Electronic Environment.”How do I ask permission to use resources (document and/or graphics) found on the Internet? Most web sites worthy of use as a reference source will include a contact source. If a contact is not available, consider looking for a different source. This may be a good indicator of the credibility of the web page. The source below provides letter templates for asking permission from an Internet author. For additional information: MindLink Magazine. “Permission to Use Graphics or Create Links.” http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/permission.html Is there really any legal action ever taken against a school, teacher or student who violates copyright laws? Yes. Because many of these civil cases are settled outside the court system, the general public is not aware of violations and therefore do not think any legal action is ever taken. The University of North Texas has a web site database that provides information on reported copyright violations committed by schools. This is a recent undertaking for the purpose of getting the message out that educational institutions are not above the copyright law. The intent is not to "point fingers" but to get the word out that schools are not out-of-reach for being prosecuted for copyright violations. Interested
in seeing possible damages and profits infringements?
Legal Information Institute. “US Code Collection.” How about testing your knowledge of copyright and fair use? The following sites are good “tests” to help you with understand some of the basic legal issues educators and students face when using Internet resources. TechLEARNING. “The 20-Questions Fair Use Copyright Quiz.” http://www.techlearning.com/content/speak/articles/questions.html By no means of the imagination are we lawyers or pretend to be. We have provided this web page to help introduce you to the issues of copyright, fair use, the Internet, multimedia presentations, and the classroom. Just remember to practice "due dilligence" when incorporating technological resources into curriculum and to interpret what you read very conservatively. (Feel free to link to this page and share its information as long as no fee is charged
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