The purpose of this website is to help faculty, students and staff make informed decisions before using materials in the classroom, for course reserves or online. The information presented here must not be relied on as a substitute for obtaining legal advice from a licensed attorney. Legal advice must be provided in the course of an attorney-client relationship specifically with reference to all the facts of the particular situation under consideration.
Informs and guides your decisions regarding the use of copyrighted materials.
鈥淐ongress shall have the power鈥� to promote the progress of science and the useful arts, by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries.鈥� 鈥� US Constitution, Article I, Section 8 "
Copyright is a legal device that provides the creator of a work of art or literature, or a work that conveys information or ideas, the right to control how the work is used." 鈥� Stephen Fishman, Esq. The Copyright Handbook, 1996.
鈥淐opyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of 鈥渙riginal works of authorship,鈥� including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
See the web site for more information on .
The purpose of copyright law is to provide economic incentive for authors to create new works. Exercising any of the copyright owners exclusive rights without permission may be copyright infringement. Rather than focus on the restrictions of copyright law, we need to learn how to use copyrighted works safely. This is where Fair Use comes in to play.
In general:
You may question whether or not the material you want to use is still under copyright protection, or in the public domain. Review these for published and unpublished copyright expiration dates. In general:
When looking for works in the public domain to add to your course syllabus or Blackboard, try the following:
Perform an 鈥渁dvanced book search鈥� and limit your search to 鈥渇ull view only鈥�.
The first producer of free electronic books.
The Library has a number of online full text ebooks, e-journals and digital videos that can be linked on syllabi or in Blackboard. Visit the Library鈥檚 鈥溾�� webpage for a complete list of resources.
Copyright law covers works of authorship and expression that are fixed in any tangible medium of expression. Since 1978, in the US Copyright is automatic鈥� that is, you don鈥檛 need to register something or even put a notice on it to signify that it is covered by copyright. Copyrightable works include the following; see list below. View FAQ
What is Not Protected by Copyright?
"To be protected by copyright, a work must contain a certain minimum amount of original literary, pictorial, or musical expression" (Circular 32). Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection. These include among others:
Exercised properly, Fair Use allows educators the right to make reasonable and limited use of copyrighted works in the classroom. See . To determine whether a use is fair, or infringing, one must walk through the and the
A common misunderstanding is that Fair Use applies in the non-profit educational setting all the time. This is not true. Additionally, the acceptance of 鈥渙ne time educational use鈥� as being fair use is not a safe practice. One must walk though the Four-Factor Test to determine if a use is fair.
It鈥檚 possible that activities which would be considered copyright infringement for the general public might be fair use in the traditional non-profit face-to-face classroom. However, in today鈥檚 information rich electronic environment, fewer and fewer educational uses are considered fair. Think of it this way, putting a hardcopy journal article on library reserve (stamped: Do Not Reproduce) for a class, makes that one copy available for only those persons in the class, or for those people who use the library鈥攖his dissemination is very limited.
Now think of what can happen when an electronic article is posted to a course management system and students are allowed to download it. If securities to disallow saving, printing, forwarding etc. aren鈥檛 set properly, the article can travel around the world in a matter of minutes.
Educators must take even more precaution today when using copyrighted works in both the face-to-face and online classroom. Markets have been established for scholarship in all formats. This includes viable markets for single journal articles. Even though affordable permissions don鈥檛 always exist, the mechanisms are in place to seek permission with relative ease, (see any publisher鈥檚 website). Educators are expected to use the mechanisms available (the Web, email, the etc.) to seek permission.
Always err on the side of caution and make a 鈥済ood faith effort鈥� to seek permission. When there is any doubt about whether or not a use is considered fair鈥攆or example, after a failed attempt to contact an author or publisher鈥攊t鈥檚 best to find new material or reference the work in a non-infringing manner, see Guidelines for Classroom Copying.
鈥淲hether or not you are within the boundaries of fair use will depend on the facts of your particular situation. What exactly are you using? How widely are you sharing the materials? Are you confining your work to the nonprofit environment of the university? To determine whether you are within fair use, the law calls for a balanced application of these four factors.鈥� 鈥� Dr. Ken Crews
The Four-Factor Test is an approved method for deciding on a case-by-case basis, whether or not one can use a copyrighted work. If at any point the infringer exercised 鈥渂ad faith鈥� by not seeking permission, or using what s/he knew was an unlawfully made copy, this weighs heavily against fair use. Access the online courtesy of Columbia University [].
The Four-Factor Test covers the following four areas:
To safely distribute a copyrighted work in the classroom, or safely place a copyrighted work on reserve in the library, you should simultaneously consult the and the . Here鈥檚 what you need to know. The Guidelines for Classroom Copying, include three very important tests:
Multiple copies (one copy per student) may be made of the following, provided each includes a notice of copyright.
One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or periodical.
Not withstanding the above, the following shall be prohibited:
Although the primary motivation behind making classroom copies is to educate, it is also recognized that 鈥渢he most obvious type of copyright infringement occurs when an entire book, story or article is copied verbatim without permission.鈥� In addition, giving credit to the author does not make the use fair, but should always be provided. 鈥� The Copyright Handbook, NOLO, 2002.
The above summary is intended to assist teachers in staying within the boundaries of Fair Use. An unedited version of the guidelines can be found in , Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians, published by the United States Copyright Office, page 8.
Obtaining permission requires that you contact the copyright holder. If you know the author and publisher, you can visit the publisher's website and view their copyright permissions information. For example, visit the or permission's page. In general, permission should be sought at least two months prior to using the copyrighted material.
You may be required to write a letter, send e-mail or fax. See from Columbia University, and from College of DuPage.
Obtaining permission to photocopy book chapters, journal articles, and material for library reserves, can also be sought by visiting the . Just click through the permissions online. In addition to the service charge, you pay a royalty fee set and paid to the copyright holder.
If you are having difficulty identifying the owner, the University of Texas maintains a with helpful information.
Need help finding the right contact? Try this provided by the National Archives.
Obtaining permission to use a video or music clip is sought in a similar way. See the , or the site.
If you are using a video clip from a DVD or video stream, to create a new work, you鈥檒l need to ask permission to use a clip. Usually 30 seconds of music and three minutes of video is all that is allowed under Fair Use (see the ).
Remember, the library has access to licensed that can be linked (in full) to Blackboard.
At the you can find royalty free videos, acquired by the Library of Congress. If you use anything from the Prelinger Archives, you still need to attribute the clip in your work.
See the Library of Congress "" or the for images in the public domain. See for royalty-free stock photos.
A Public Performance License allows for the showing of an entire video at a campus event. (Classroom teaching is not a campus event.) Some of the library's DVDs do include Public Performance Rights (PPR), meaning the license to have a non-classroom public performance has been paid, upon purchase of the DVD. All of the library's DVDs published by Bullfrog Films, Films for the Humanities and Sciences, and New Day Films, for example, include Public Performance Rights. Campus events that include video viewing should contact to buy a one-time viewing license, if the video is not already part of the Library's PPR video collection.
As a 91制片厂 employee, it is important that you familiarize yourself with the College's prior to beginning a project where you fully intend to own the copyright.
You may want to register your work with the ; see their .
An alternative to registering your work with the U.S. Copyright Office, is using a license. A Creative Commons license does not follow traditional copyright rules, and is seen as a simple standardized substitute. "Educators and learners use our licenses to share and collaboratively, [to] build textbooks, lectures, and lesson plans... We believe that scientific research, journals, and data should be available to everyone, and have legal tools that help make this happen."
It鈥檚 true that a work is automatically copyrighted once it is put into a fixed (tangible) format. But if you would like to share your own work with others, and want to make sure that you are properly credited, you may want to add a license to your work. After sharing your work, you might also agree that others can copy, distribute, display, and perform your work鈥攅ven make derivative works based upon it, so long as you are properly credited. 鈥� are not an alternative to copyright. They work alongside copyright and enable you to modify your copyright terms to best suit your needs.鈥� to see how Creative Commons works. See how the Creative Commons license works with .
Course materials available from the world鈥檚 top universities are searchable on the Creative Commons site. If you are using Creative Commons licensed/copyrighted materials, there is no need to ask for permission. However, you must cite the content creator, to use it freely without issue. Visit OpenAttribute to download the free add-on for the Firefox browser.
This procedure is established to provide the College and College employees with general guidelines to follow regarding issues of Copyright and Intellectual Property. Any questions regarding this procedure should be directed to the appropriate designated union representative or to the Vice President of Administrative Services (VPAS).
A member of Harper who creates Intellectual Property on his/her own time without the use of substantial College resources or College financial support retains full ownership and revenue rights with respect to such work(s).
The College shall not claim ownership of a work unless the work falls within the scope of employment or is commissioned by the College (see Works Made for Hire).
The College does not claim ownership of works that may be considered as falling within the scope of employment but have traditionally been recognized as belonging to originating faculty. These include theses or dissertations; books, articles, or similar works; and course materials such as but not restrict to syllabi, lecture notes, assignments, problem sets, and exams.
The College does claim ownership of course outlines, Blackboard course shells, and works that employees have produced as members of College committees.
The College shall not claim ownership of Intellectual Property created on an employee's own time unless substantial College resources and/or College financial support is used in the creation, development, or production of the work. Works created with extensive use of the resources of the Department of Instructional Technology (DoIT), for example, require an Agreement prior to project initiation. Works created at the employee's will and initiative on his/her own time, but with College financial support (e.g., paid sabbatical, special project grant, fellowship, etc.) also require an Agreement prior to project commencement. Without said Agreement, ownership will default to 50% College owned and 50% employee owned. (Use of students in classrooms to test out materials or inventions will not be considered College support.)
If interested in ownership, a member of Harper who plans to undertake a project to develop Intellectual Property using substantial College resources and/or College financial support must inform the Office of the VPAS or designated union representative prior to the commencement of the project. Advance notice is required to allow sufficient time for drafting an Ownership Agreement, defining and providing legal protection for the work and the rights of the member and the College.
Any disputes between the member and the College shall be resolved pursuant to the grievance procedures contained in the contract governing each member's employment at the College. In this process, the parties may call upon the services of an expert in copyright and intellectual property law and practice.
In the absence of an Agreement, ownership would default to 50% College owned and 50% employee owned and equity would be distributed as described under Revenue Distribution.
For works completed prior to the enactment of this policy, ownership will be assigned according to the Board-approved Copyrights and Patents Manual of January 25, 1990. If applicable, equity will be distributed as described in that document.
It is strongly recommended that members of Harper working jointly on an Intellectual Property project enter into an Agreement with the other persons on the issues of ownership and related rights. This would include entering into an Agreement when the creator plans to make extensive use of College services such as those provided by the DoIT.
The copyright owner is responsible for protecting the work against infringement and may decide to register the copyright with the Library of Congress at as part of such protection. The copyright owner is also responsible for obtaining appropriate written releases for any materials used in the production of the work.
91制片厂 does not view becoming a publisher or distributor of created materials for profit as part of its mission. Employees looking for such services should not expect 91制片厂 to be a provider.
Property rights may be shared by the College with other entities, as defined by the Agreement. Requests to utilize property rights of which the creator is partial owner or non-owner will be handled through a licensing agreement. Licensing agreements with other educational institutions or nonprofits may be at no cost.
The licensing agreement will include the following:
Net income resulting from Intellectual Property developed with substantial College resources and/or College financial support and to which thus the College claims full or partial ownership shall be divided among the creators of said property and the College. Such allocation shall be specified in the Agreement referred to above, reflecting the nature, degree, and source of support for the project, and the importance of amply rewarding creativity. In general, net income resulting from said Intellectual Property will be allocated among the creator(s) and the College as follows:
These allocations are general guidelines only. The Agreement will dictate the division and allocation of revenues arising from the Intellectual Property developed, based on the nature of the project, resources to be used, the parties involved, and funding advanced, if any.
Ownership, revenue, and use rights in works created by a member of 91制片厂 as part of a project funded by an external entity, such as a state or federal grant, or a grant from a private foundation or agency, shall be expressly defined in the grant documents. If the grant documents do not include such provisions, the College and the member will enter into an Agreement, prior to the commencement of the project, defining such rights.
Rights in works created by a member of 91制片厂 (normally, full-time employees) as part of a project funded by the College (e.g., sabbatical leave, special project grant, or released-time assignment) will be defined by an Agreement between the member and the College prior to the commencement of the project.
Rights in works created by a member of 91制片厂 (normally, adjuncts) that are commissioned by the College or produced with substantial College resources or with College financial support (e.g., in the form of overloads or stipends) may be shared by the College with the member as defined by an Agreement between the member and the College.
In each case, the Agreement will include the following:
Without said Agreement, ownership would default to 50% College owned and 50% employee owned; equity would be distributed as described under Revenue Distribution.
Commissioned Work: Specially ordered work.
Exclusive License: When the copyrighted work in question is not governed by any other licensing agreements. Under the 1976 Copyright Act, an exclusive license is considered an assignment of copyright ownership and is not valid unless it is in writing and signed by the copyright owner.
Intellectual Property: Includes physical manifestation of intellectual effort including inventions, discoveries, know-how, show-how, processes, unique materials, original data, and other creative or artistic works that have value. Also includes works of authorship, inventions, and discoveries that may be subject to protection by patents, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, and trade secrets. Includes, without limitation, books, texts, articles, monographs, glossaries, bibliographies, study guides, laboratory manuals, syllabi, tests and work papers, lectures, musical compositions, dramatic compositions, unpublished scripts, films, filmstrips, charts, transparencies or other visual aids, video and audio tapes and cassettes, computer programs, live video and audio broadcasts, computerized and computer-assisted instructional materials, Internet course content, programmed instructional materials, multimedia instructional materials, processes and methodologies, drawings, paintings, sculptures, photographs, and other works of art.
License: Permission granted by the owner of Intellectual Property to a licensee to do something that, without the license, would not be allowable.
Nonexclusive License: When a license allows another person to use the copyrighted work in a manner specified by the copyright owner, but does not assign any exclusive rights. Nonexclusive licenses are not considered an assignment of ownership and need not be in writing.
Resources Usually and Customarily Provided: Includes such support as office space, library facilities, ordinary access to computers and networks, or salary. In general, it does not include use of employees as support staff to develop the work, or substantial use of specialized or unique facilities and equipment, or other special subventions provided by the College. The understanding of what resources are usually and customarily provided (especially the resources referred to by the phrase "ordinary access to computers and networks") changes over time.
Result of College Financial Support: Includes work done on sabbatical, special projects, or reassigned time.
Scope of Employment: Work that an employee is hired to perform, occurring substantially within authorized time and space limits and actuated, at least in part, by a purpose to serve the College.
Substantial College Resources: Resources beyond what is usually and customarily provided to members of 91制片厂. This includes extensive use of College time, staff, equipment, laboratories, physical plant, or other resources.
Works Made for Hire: As defined in 搂101 of the 1976 Copyright Act, "(1) a work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or (2) a work specially ordered or commissioned for use as a contribution to a collective work, as a part of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, as a translation, as a supplementary work, as a compilation, as an instructional text, as a test, as answer material for a test, or as an atlas, if the parties expressly agree in a written instrument signed by them that the work shall be considered a work made for hire. For the purpose of the foregoing sentence, a 'supplementary work' is a work prepared for publication as a secondary adjunct to a work by another author for the purpose of introducing, concluding, illustrating, explaining, revising, commenting upon, or assisting in the use of the other work, such as forewords, afterwords, pictorial illustrations, maps, charts, tables, editorial notes, musical arrangements, answer material for tests, bibliographies, appendixes, and indexes, and an 'instructional text' is a literary, pictorial, or graphic work prepared for publication and with the purpose of use in systematic instructional activities."
Adler, Prudence S., Aufderheide, Patricia., Butler, Brandon. Jaszi, Peter., eds. . [Washington, D.C.] : Association Of Research Libraries, 2012. Web.
. Center for Social Media, 2008. Web.
Crews, Kenneth D. . Chicago : American Library Association, 2012. Web.
, 2014. Web.
Lehman, Bruce A..Washington, DC : Working Group On Intellectual Property Rights Of The Information Infrastructure Task Force, 1998. Web.
If you still have questions after reviewing the copyright links above, you may contact the following college personnel:
Resources for Learning
Faculty At-Large
Academy for Teaching Excellence
Copyright Agent