Copyright Guidelines
Ferris
Library for
Information,
Technology and Education
©opyright is the legal protection that grants to the
owner the right to control the public display, reproduction, adaptation, and
distribution of his or her creative product.
Anything in a fixed medium is copyrighted; even if a copyright symbol is
not present one should consider the material to be protected.
Copyright does not protect
ideas, but rather the products of those ideas.
The enforcement of copyrighted laws is becoming more stringent and the
penalties are severe. Obtaining
permission from the copyright holder can override any limitations imposed by
the law or guidelines.
Fair Use Guidelines
Fair Use Guidelines are
established to permit the use of copyrighted works in limited situations,
without the permission of the copyright holder. Four Fair Use Factors must be applied when claiming that an
educational use is protected by the Fair Use Guidelines. The
burden of proving fair use falls to the educator making use of the material. If you have questions, contact the Copyright
Clearance Center at www.copyright.com.
Fair Use Factors
1.
The purpose and character
of use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or for nonprofit
educational purposes. Is it for education or profit?
2.
The nature of the
copyrighted work. Is it creative or informative?
3.
The amount and
substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a
whole. How much are you using?
4.
The effect of the use
upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Does
use prevent the copyright holder from benefiting?
Guidelines
Print
A teacher may make single
copies of a book chapter, article, short story or short poem, chart diagram
drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper.
Teachers may not copy consumable works and copying of the same item may not
be repeated from term to term.
Copies may be made for the
classroom if they include a notice of copyright and meet the tests of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative
effect.
Brevity
Portion allowable is based on
the type of text. Short articles or poems, may be used in entirety. Ten percent is the rule of thumb for longer
works.
Spontaneity
If a teacher decides to use an
item and if there is not enough time to expect a reply to a request for
permission before using the item for teaching effectiveness, the item can be
used under fair use.
Cumulative Effect
Copying is for only one
course. Not more that two items from
the same author or three from the same collective work can be used during one
class term.
Internet
All materials posted on the Internet
are copyrighted. They can be legally
read but not legally forwarded or copied for instructional purposes, except
under fair use. You may make one copy
for personal use.
The more creative the site the
less it can be used without permission.
Some sites grant permission for educational purposes. When in doubt, contact the site’s webmaster.
Make sure you have permission
to use any photos, logos, or graphics on websites you create or manage.
You need permission from the
photographer and identifiable people in pictures to use photos.
Email, Discussion Lists
The author of an email owns
the content of the message. As a
recipient, you cannot make copies or distribute the message without permission
of the sender.
A message posted to a
newsgroup or discussion list is considered to be published. Fair use can be applied to use
portions. Fair use would be negated if
the list has a policy that the material not be distributed beyond the list.
Multimedia Guidelines
Allows digitizing of other
formats for incorporation into multimedia creations for academic
assignments. Original works used for
digitizing must be obtained lawfully.
Portion limitations help identify how much is acceptable under fair use.
Portion Limitations
Text: up to
10% or 1,000 words whichever is less.
Audio: up to
10% but not more that 30 seconds.
Images: An
entire illustration or photo may be used, but not more than five images by the
same artist or photographer.
Numerical data:
up to 10% or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less.
My Obligation as an Educator
Model responsible use of copyrighted material for my students.
Use Copyright Clearance Center services to acquire permission for ANY
use of copyrighted materials that do not have Fair Use protection.
Apply the four Fair Use factors when considering copying anything.
Get permission to use materials when Fair Use does not apply.
Limit access to copyrighted materials in distance learning classes.
Above statement courtesy of
Kent State University Faculty Professional Development Center Ad Hoc Committee
on Copyright. Much of the content of
this sheet is used with their permission.
Copyright Contact
Information at Ferris State University
If you have questions on
copyright, please feel free to contact:
David Scott
Interlibrary Loan Librarian
and Copyright Officer
FLT 140-D
(231) 591-3540
scottd@ferris.edu
Copyright Links
Copyright
Clearance Center
To secure permission to copy protected
works.
Library
of Congress Copyright Office
To register a copyright.
Copyright
Crash Course
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm#top
Excellent tutorial on copyright
information.
Higher Education: Questions
and Answers for the Campus Community
www.publishers.org/about/copyqa.
cfm
Short guide to help answer copyright questions as they
relate to academe. Text is downloadable
or printable. Highly recommended. One copy
per person may be downloaded/printed without permission.
Stanford University Copyright
and Fair Use.
Excellent summary of fair use
guidelines and policies.
Copyright Management Center
http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/
Produced by Ken Crews at IUPUI, this site contains a
wealth of information on such issues as fair use, how to obtain permission and
who has ownership of copyright.
Copyright Law
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/
If interested, here is the entire text of the Copyright
Law.
Ferris provided weblinks
www.ferris.edu/library/copyright
/web.html
This list provides links to numerous sites containing
copyright information. The above links can be found here.