COPYRIGHT: The Basics

Copyright Definition
A copyright (
• Is a property right attached to an original work (creative works, computer programs, etc.)
• Doesn’t include intangible material (e.g. impromptu speeches/performances),
slogans, titles, symbols, processes, or things in public domain/common
knowledge (e.g. calendar system, gov’t documents, etc.)
• Grants the author or creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, or
display the protected work.
• Grants the author full control over all forms of reproduction of their work.
Other than someone to whom the author/creator has extended all or part of these rights,
no one else may use, copy, or alter the work except under special circumstances

Special circumstances include:

• Public domain
• Permission granted
• FAIR USE & TEACH ACT

Fair Use Definition

 Legal limitation on copyright holders rights (from Copyright Act of 1976) for non-profit
educational settings
 Lists conditions under which reproduction of a work might be considered FAIR
○ criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research
 Determination of “FAIR” based on four factors
○ purpose of use
○ nature of the work
○ amount and sustainability of work used
○ the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work
There is no ‘fair use’ law. There is only 200+ years of court rulings to help define what is
and is not fair use.

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia

These are guidelines (not laws!!) established by a group of educators, lawyers,
librarians, authors, publishers and other interested parties. They are meant to address
some of the challenges faced when dealing with digital content used for creating
multimedia for teaching/learning/scholarship. The general idea is to use the smallest bit
necessary to accomplish the teaching objective. Basic use guidelines include:
• music – 10% or 30 seconds, whichever is less
• video – up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less
• text – up to 10% or 1000 words, whichever is less
• photos/images – limited to 5 works per author, 10% or 15 works (whichever is less) from
a collection
• poems – up to 250 words; limited to 3 poems per poet, 5 poems per anthology
Created by
Bethany Bovard
October, 2008
Teacher can use the multimedia artifact comprised of the copyrighted works for up to
TWO years, then permission must be sought.

TEACH Act Definition

The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act was signed into
law on November 2, 2002 and addresses issues of fair use in distance education
classes. As a general rule, it is much more limiting than fair use in a face-to-face
classroom. There are several requirements that must be met to be able to use this law
as defense for ‘fair use’ in distance education classrooms.

Resources
US Government Copyright Office http://www.copyright.gov/
TEACH Act http://www.copyright.com/media/pdfs/CR-Teach-Act.pdf

Created by
Bethany Bovard
October, 2008