WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO ME?

By Penny Mullin
Objectives:
We will: I will takeaway:

 Define copyright  How to implement and model copyright

 Understand fair use with “Fair is Square” laws in and out of the classroom
 Learn guidelines to follow
 Use of public domain
 Explore a real-world example
 Areas to reflect on as educators
 Thought Experiment
• Imagine you spent a lot of time
creating an in-depth, hands-on unit in
your course. This included thoughtful
activities, a creative project, and a
thorough study guide. A colleague
asked if you could share this with
them, and you agreed that only they
could review and potentially use it.
Months later you see your unit posted
online for profit with no credit to you.
What are your initial thoughts? How
would this make you feel?
 What is copyright?
• It is the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or assignee, to print, publish,
perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize
others to do the same.

Why is it important to me?

• As educators, we often deal with and teach about copyrighted materials. We also
create lots of material for our classrooms as well as facilitate projects with our
students where they are creating new works!
 Is copyright confusing?

• It sure can be! There is a lot of nuance

to copyright. However, this should
not stop us from doing our best to
understand the law and being
familiar with the guidelines that are
available for copyright.
 What is fair use?
• According to the U.S. Copyright Office, fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes
freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected
works in certain circumstances.

• Let’s take a deeper look at fair use and how we can do our best to decide if
something is able to be used in our classrooms, projects, and other creative works.
EXPLORE: FAIR AND SQUARE?

The Four Factors

To determine fair use, of Fair Use
ask yourself: Is it fair ...
Purpose

Amount

Nature
… and square?

Effect

commonsense.org/education
Shareable with attribution for noncommercial use. Remixing is permitted.
EXPLORE: THE FOUR FACTORS OF FAIR USE
… the purpose of the new
work is educational or the
original work is transformed
into something very different.

Purpose
It's more likely to … the amount used is
only a small portion of
… the nature of the
original work is

Amount

Nature
be fair use if ... the original work or
does not include the
nonfiction or based
on fact (rather than
"heart" of the work. creative or fictional).

Effect

… the effect of the new

work does not include any
negative impact on the
creator or the value of the
original work (think $!).

commonsense.org/education
Shareable with attribution for noncommercial use. Remixing is permitted.
 Is this fair use?
• Let’s put our knowledge into practice! In this scenario, would the teacher be able
to say it is fair use?

• A teacher is doing a lesson about news media and wants to share a recent article
they read. They print out a 6-page article and make copies for their students.
Would this situation fall under fair use? Discuss with your neighbor/ table.
Is it fair and square?
Purpose: It is
educational as part
of a lesson.

Amount: It uses the

entire article Nature: The article
instead of small is a part of the news
excerpts or quotes. which is based on
fact.

Effect: If this is a paid

article then the
teacher is taking away
100s of opportunities
for purchase.
 Public Domain
• According to the U.S. Copyright Office, the phrase "public domain" (PD) isn't in the
U.S. Copyright Act. It is, however, commonly used to refer to content that isn't
protected by copyright law. Works that are in the public domain may be used
freely, without obtaining permission from or compensating the copyright owner.
• Some examples of things in the public domain are if the copyright has expired, the
creator has given permission, and things like news, history, facts, or ideas (but not
necessarily others’ works about these things).
• You can check to see if something is public domain by contacting the creator, see
if there is obvious permission on the work, or checking copyright records at
copyright.gov.
 Close to home:
$9.2 million copyright case in HISD
• According to Edweek.org,
“Jurors in a federal court in Houston made the award after hearing the
publisher Dynastudy argue that the district’s actions violated copyright laws and
resulted in lost sales and a devaluing of the organization’s work.”
“DynaStudy says the lawsuit focused on 38 of its copyrighted works.”
“Copyright enforcement has traditionally been a huge concern for educational
publishers, and for organizations that represent them.”
 Discussion
• Was the use of DynaStudy’s materials fair and square? Why or why not?

• In your opinion, was the judgement fair?

• How could this situation have been done legally?

• Should education be exempt from copyright laws?

 Bringing it to the classroom
• How can we model copyright laws in our classrooms?

• What steps can be taken at our schools to follow copyright?

• What areas can we change about our lessons, activities, and projects we create to
model fair is square?
 Review
1. Which is not an element of fair use? 3. As long as the source is cited, there is
Purpose Medium Amount Effect
no copyright infringement.
True False

2. Patents are covered by copyright 4. Which is not a way to play it safe

law. with copyright?
Give credit to creator Ask for permission
True False
Use a small amount Copy and past
Resources
• https://www.copyright.gov/what-is-copyright/
• https://www.youtube.com/@USCopyrightOffice
• https://www.edutopia.org/article/teachers-guide-copyright-and-fair-use/
• https://www.commonsensemedia.org/
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