As we move deeper into the 21st Century, one of the legal inventions of the past, originally designed to offer stimulus and protection, continues to cause difficulties for educators of the present – copyright. Among the most difficult areas of law to deal with on both an individual and institutional basis, the application of copyright requirements to print and non-print items can have an immediate impact on how Tusculum instructors teach and how their students learn.
The information provided here is designed to offer assistance. It does not reflect any school policy nor should it be construed as legal advice.
U.S. Copyright Law
U.S. Copyright Office Basics of Copyright
Tusculum University Resources:
Copyright and Fair Use Power point from Tusculum University Instructional Support Committee Faculty/Staff Workshop on Copyright and Illegal Downloading, Greeneville Campus, January 28, 2011.
Illegal Downloading and HEOA Prezi presentation developed by B.J. Robert for the Faculty/Staff workshop on Copyright and Illegal Downloading January 28, 2011.
The usual first question asked about copyright at TC Library over the years has been: “What can I use and how can I use it?” Fortunately, our colleagues at the University of Tennessee Libraries have done a marvelous job of addressing this concern, which is technically known as “Fair Use.” The law on Fair Use is also quoted at the Copyright Office site. If you have any further doubts as to what constitutes “Fair Use,” it is recommended that you complete the “Fair Use Checklist,” available from the Copyright Management Center at Indiana University.
In Spring of 2008 a lawsuit was filed by 3 major academic book publishers against administrators at Georgia State University through the United States Federal District Court in Atlanta GA that argue violation of copyright law and fair use through the creation and distribution of digital course packs. Find out more here: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/16/technology/16school.html
Content Use on Campus: new copyright challenges for senior administrators a Copyright Clearance Center research study provides an overview and statistical report on copyright and use of digital information on U.S. college campuses.
University of Tennessee Libraries
Copyright Office Law on Fair Use
Copyright Clearance Center is the organization to contact if it is determined that use goes beyond that outlined in the above references.
Examples of Fair Use include as quoted from the Copyright Clearance Center “Copyright Basics”:
- Quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment.
- Quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations.
- Reproduction of material for classroom use where the reproduction was unexpected and spontaneous–for example, where an article in the morning’s paper is directly relevant to that day’s class topic.
- Use in a parody of short portions of the work itself.
- A summary of an address or article, which may include quotations of short passages of the copyrighted work.
http://data.memberclicks.com/site/ccumc/MMFUGuidelines.pdf “A major focus and interest of the Consortium of College & University Media Centers is the matter of Copyright and its context within the profession, intellectual property issues, government regulations, and public policy. In fact, there is a CCUMC committee, Government Regulations and Public Policy, whose charge is to function as an educational resource for the membership regarding regulations and policies affecting educational technology.”