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Fair Use Harbor

By
Stephanie Ritter, Chezare Milo and Lauren Scirica

Background Beach (Stephanie)

What is the relationship between "copyright" and "fair use"?


Copyright is an intellectual property right.
It protects forms of expression, such as:

• poetry
• prose
• computer programs
• artwork
• written or recorded music
• a "web page"

It does not protect items such as:

• ideas
• titles
• facts
• URLs
• works in the public domain

Fair use is a concept conceived after many court discussions regarding the rights of
copyright owners and the legitimate reasons society would need to make copies of
material. It seeks to give the public the opportunity to use copyrighted material
without needing permission or needing to pay the owner for this usage. Fair use
supports that copies may be legally used for the "purposes of criticism, news
reporting, teaching, and scholarly research" (Agnew, Gummess, Hudson, 2002)

The 1976 Copyright Act:


The Copyright Act gives the copyright owner:

1. The right to reproduce the copyrighted work.


2. The right to prepare derivative works based upon the original(s).
3. The right to distribute copies of the work.
4. The right to perform the work publicly.
5. The right to display the work publicly.

The following four "fair use" criteria were created as guidelines on how copyrighted
materials can be used in non-profit educational institutions without infringement on
the above rights. You are to consider:

1. The purpose and character of the use including whether such use is of a
commercial nature or is for non profit educational purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work.
3. The amount and substantially of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted
work as a whole.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted
work.

Application for Teachers:


The laws created around the issue of copyright and fair use have been designed to
protect both the intellectual property owner as well as the educator who finds value in
using copyrighted work. When using copyrighted material, the teacher must ask if
they are using it fairly. Are they using a minimum amount sufficient enough to use in
learning? Is the value of the work upheld in both it's purpose and market value? When
making this individual judgement in one's classroom, it is helpful to refer to the above
guidelines and also any policies the education institution may hold on this topic.

Multimedia Wharf (Stephanie)


How do we define fair use in multimedia and the virtual world?
The following guidelines were determined in 1996 by a broad range of individual
opinions. These are guidelines, not laws, and offer educators a "rule of thumb"
(Agnew, et. al, 2002).

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

• Students may incorporate others' works into their multimedia creations and
perform and display them for academic assignments.

• Faculty may incorporate others' works into their multimedia creations to produce
curriculum materials.
• Faculty may provide for multimedia products using copyrighted works to be
accessible to students at a distance (distance learning), provided that only those
students may access the material.
• Faculty may demonstrate their multimedia creations at professional symposia
and retain same in their own portfolios.

When using multimedia material in an education setting, one must consider:

• The acceptable limit of copyrighted material one may use for motion media,
text, pictures, poems, music, photos or images, and database information. For
example, when using motion media like video clips, the greater of either 10% or
3 minutes of the source may be used under the fair use guidelines (Agnew, et.
al, 2002).
• Faculty may retain use of a source for only 2 years for education use before
permission from the owner is required.

Application for Teachers:


With the growing use of technology and multimedia as an important educational tool,
teachers should be familiar with the copyright issues surrounding this type of
intellectual property. With information flowing in all directions on the Internet, fair use
is a concept to be highly regarded. The Fair Use Guidelines for Education Multimedia
have been established to allow educators to use minimal, yet sufficient material for
teaching purposes with no repercussions. Again, knowing the guidelines and
exemplifying good digital citizenship is key to protecting intellectual property as well
as your rights as an educator.

Single Copying Inlet (Chez)

According to the 1976 Copyright Act there are four criteria, "for which fair use may be
applicable" however "fair-use" is not defined in the act. There were guidelines
established by the House of Representatives for educators that pertain to single copies
of a work (Agnew, et. al, 2002).

According to the established guidelines single copies of the following may be made by
teachers:

• A chapter from a book.


• An article from a periodical or newspaper.
• A...
• short story
• short essay
• short poem
• ...whether or not from a collective work.
• A chart, graph, diagram, drawing cartoon or picture from a
• book
• periodical
• newspaper

(Agnew, et. al, 2002)

Application for Teachers:


Students may make single copies of material placed in the reserve room of the library
by a teacher. These singles copies must be made on machines, "that are plainly
marked with notices citing protection of the works under the Copyright Act," (Agnew,
et. al, 2002). The students then become responsible for any violations of copyright as
a result of using the copiers. The library may keep single copies on hand for students
in the reserve room if requested by a member of the faculty (Agnew, et. al, 2002).
Since students often will make copies for reference or later use in projects, etc. it is
important for teachers to discuss appropriate behavior regarding copies with your
students. If you want your students to have a copy of a specific written work, you
should have the copies on hand in the library reserve room.

The Cove of Multiple Copies (Chez)


Here are general guidelines for multiple copies generated from a work for classroom
use:

• For an article, the limit is 2,500 words.


• For a longer work of prose, the limit is 1,000 words, or 10% of the work,
whichever is less.
• For a poem, the limit is 250 words.
• For a longer poem, an excerpt of no more than 250 words may be used.
• No more than one chart, diagram, cartoon or picture from a
• book,
• periodical, or
• newspaper.

• The copying must be done at the initiative of the teacher (at the moment of
inspiration).
• The copying must be done at a time when it is unreasonable to get permission
from the copyright owner.
• Only one copy is made for each student.
• No charge is made to the student except to recover only the cost of copying.
• The copying is done for only one course.
• The same item is not reproduced from term to term.

• No more than...
• one work is copied from a single author.
• three authors are copied from a single collective work (such as an
anthology).
• nine instances of multiple copying occur during a single term or semester.
• "Consumable works" shall not be copied, such as:
• workbooks
• standardized tests.
• With respect to newspapers and periodicals, you can copy as many times as you
want, while still keeping within the word limits discussed earlier.
• You may not put copies into collective works, also known as anthologies. This
violates the right of the copyright holder to make "derivative works."
• If you have time to seek a publisher's reprint, or get permission, you are
obligated to do so. It is only if you do not have time that it is fair use to make
copies for students.

(Agnew, et. al, 2002)

Application for Teachers:


As a general rule for multiple copies: It is OK to make multiple copies if it is "spur of
the moment", the copies made are short in length, a small amount of copies are
made, and making the copies is, "a necessity to accomplish your instructional
objectives," (Agnew, et. al, 2002). Applying the guidelines above, teachers must take
care to ensure they vary the works presented from term to term to avoid violating
copyright law. Teachers should NOT keep multiple copies from a copyright protected
work because this violates law as your are expected, "to get permission from the
copyright owner," if reasonable(Agnew, et. al, 2002). Teachers also should NOT keep
multiple copies from a copyright protected work because then the copying is not done,
"at the moment of inspiration," and therefore violates the law (Agnew, et. al, 2002).

Audio Visual Lagoon (Lauren)


Audio visual vs. multimedia

• Audio Visual is a combination or sequence of pictures, sound or both.

not to be confused with multimedia

• Multimedia is the combination of text, sound, video clips, pictures in a


computerized setting. An Audio visual display may be incorporated into a
multimedia presentation. (Agnew, et. al, 2002)

Examples of audio visual materials include:

• DVD discs
• VHS tapes
• Blu-ray discs
• Laser discs
• 35mm slides
• 16mm movies
• filmstrips

Audio visual fair use vs. performance and display

• Fair use is the copying of a portion of an AV work with the intent of using it in an
instructional setting.
• Performance and display is the presentation of an AV work to students.
• These are dealt with separately in the copyright laws.

Performance and display

• Must be from a lawfully made copy


• Display must meet instructional objective
• The use of popular videos outside of instruction- rewards, inspiration, etc. is
prohibited, even if using a lawfully made copy
• The Teach Act of 2002 allowed for some digital transmission under certain
conditions to students in a distance setting (to be discussed in greater detail in
next section).

Fair use of AV

• Use the smallest portion necessary to meet instructional needs


• Must avoid using the most significant or important portion
Unlawful to convert AV to different format, even if the content is unavailable in
that format.

Application for Teachers:


With the digital age that we live in, this section has an increased relevance for many
teachers. Although technology has made the copy of digital material easier, this does
not make it legal in most situations. Teachers need to be very careful in how they
utilize audio visual material. The use of lawful copies of videos not being able to be
used as rewards was something that surprised me. As a student in school, I remember
watching Disney movies on party days. According to the performance and display
standards, this would have been a major violation of copyright laws. With the
prevalence of sites on the Internet such as TeacherTube and YouTube, teachers have
access to a range of materials on a wide variety of subjects that have been made
available free of charge and without copyright restrictions. There is less of a need
today for teachers to be copying portions of materials for instructional needs when all
these videos are available.

DistEd Point (Lauren)

The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2002 created
the laws that govern how audio visual copyright laws can be applied to distance
learning situations. Distance learning refers to the online classes that do not meet in a
traditional classroom setting that are available from almost all universities. This law
applies to universities with non profit status. These universities must have established
copyright and fair use policies in place that are visible and understood by both
instructors and students. The law applies to AV material that an instructor would show
in a normal classroom setting such as movie clips, music clips, pictures, or poetry
readings. It does not apply to information a student would normally be required to
view on their own time.

The major provisions of the law are:

• The materials may only be made available to students enrolled in the class, and
only for a length relevant to learning.
• If a digital version is available, the instructor should use it. however, if a digital
version is not available, an instructor may digitize an analog version for
streaming purposes
• Copyrighted DVDs have a built in feature that prohibits their copying.
Instructors will then need to use the analog (VHS) version to create the
digital version
• The instructor may only use "reasonable and limited" portions of works
• The exceptions to this clause are (Harper 2002):
• non dramatic films which might include short literary or poetry
readings.
• music other than operas, music videos or musicals.
• With respect to still images, instructors may upload an amount comparable
to what would be viewed in a normal class setting

Application for Teachers:


The TEACH Act applies to distance learning situations in higher education settings.
As a K-5 teacher, this law will not apply to my teaching. For university professors, this
law allowed the use of audio visual materials in distance learning, but placed
considerable restrictions on their ability to utilize them. Professors must be aware of
the differences between the TEACH Act and normal copyright laws that apply to
classroom settings. When this law was created, VHS tapes were still fairly prevalent.
With the decrease in availability of VHS, this law may create issues for professors in
the upcoming years as they try to find analog materials that can be digitized.
However, digital copies of certain AV materials have reached a wider distribution, so
there is a possibility that the material may be available in an online or purely digital
version.

Bibliography
Agnew, Gummess, Hudson , J, G, M (2002). Fair use harbor. Retrieved March 16, 2009, from A Visit To
Copyright Bay Web site: http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/fairuse.htm

Harper, Georgia (2002, Nov. 13). The TEACH Act finally becomes Law. [online]. Copyright Crash Course.
Available: http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/teachact.htm.

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