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Copyright: Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is copyright?

According to copyright authority and University of North Carolina law professor, Laura Gasaway, copyright “grants to its owner the right to control an intellectual or artistic creation, to prohibit other persons from using that work in specific ways without permission, and to profit from the sale and performance of the work.” Current copyright law is based on Article I, section 8, clause 8 of the U.S. Constitution which guarantees that “The Congress shall have Power…To promote the Progress of Science and useful arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries.” Acts of Congress in 1909, 1976, 1998, and 2002 have refined the scope of copyright.

Copyright protects any original work which is “fixed in a tangible medium of expression.” Under today’s copyright law, a work is copyrighted when it is created in a physical form capable of identification – an existence of more than “transitory duration.” A copyright notice is not required to protect the original work.

How long does copyright protection last?

Current law grants copyright privileges to the author for the life of the author plus 70 years. The law protects anonymous and pseudonymous works and “works made for hire” for 95 years from their first publication or 120 years from their creation, whichever expires first. See Laura Gasaway’s chart for when an item falls into the public domain at http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm.

Why is copyright important?

In the current climate, authors and other content producers and distributors are extremely keen to protect their intellectual property, and they have pursued legal action to protect their copyright. It is important for educators to know about copyright to avoid legal action aimed at them and the institution where they teach. It is also important to know that the law includes exceptions relevant to educators. The exceptions allow the right to make certain specified uses of copyrighted works. “Fair Use” is the most important of these exceptions.

What is “Fair Use”?

Fair Use acts as a balance to the wide use of rights granted to copyright owners. Congress created (in the United State Code, Title 17, Section 107) a flexible Fair Use statute which gives no exact parameters, but offers 4 factors to evaluate and to balance in any determination of Fair Use:
  • The purpose of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
  • The nature of the copyrighted work;
  • The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
  • The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work.

What copyright guidelines act as “safe harbors”?

The Fair Use clause provides a broad framework for evaluation. In addition, there have been a number of guidelines created by negotiations among private parties holding diverse views of copyright and fair use. These guidelines attempt to define fair use as applied to common situations and can act as a “safe harbor.” The major guidelines are:

Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals, March 1976.
http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/Copyright/guidebks.htm

Guidelines for Educational Uses of Music, April 1976.
http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/Copyright/guidemus.htm

Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes, October 1981
http://www.musiclibraryassoc.org/Copyright/guiderec.htm

Model Policy Concerning College and University Photocopying for Classroom, Research and Library Reserve Use, March 1982
http://www.cni.org/docs/infopols/ALA.html#mpup

Library and Classroom Use of Copyrighted Videotapes and Computer Software, February 1986
http://www.ifla.org/documents/infopol/copyright/ala-1.txt

Final Report to the Commissioner on the Conclusion of the Conference on Fair Use, November 1998 – proposals for guidelines applicable to visual images, e-learning, and multimedia
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/confu/confurep.htm

What do you need to know about copyright to use audiovisual material in the classroom?

  1. Showing videos and DVD’s in the classroom (summarized from the Kastenmeir Guidelines, formulated by a Congressional subcommittee)

    Videos and DVD’s from the AV Library, rental stores, or purchased for your personal collection:

    • may be shown in a face-to-face teaching situation
    • may be shown in their entirety or in segments cued up on the original tape or disc
    • may not be copied from the original onto another video or disc to make video compilations

    Off-air recordings made at home:

    • may be used only once, and repeated once with each class, during the first 10 consecutive school days of a 45-day calendar retention period
    • after the first 10 days, recordings may be used up to the end of the 45-day period only for teacher evaluation purposes (35 days for evaluation)
    • must contain copyright notice on broadcast program as recorded
    • refers only to programs transmitted by television stations without charge to the general publi
    • pay and cable services, such as HBO and Cinemax, do not fall under guidelines

  2. Videos or DVD’s you would like to see put on the IPTV or the Blackboard system require copyright permission. Please contact the AV Library if you would like help in obtaining approval.

  3. Using video, DVD, and audio segments in multimedia presentations (summarized from the informal “Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia” - CONFU guidelines - used by the academic community)

    • a segment of video or DVD is restricted to up to 10 % or 3 minutes, whichever is less
    • a segment of music is restricted to up to 10 %, but no more than 30 seconds of music and lyrics from an individual musical work
    • segments may be used for up to 2 years from the first instructional use – after that must request copyright permission

What do you need to know about copyright to use audiovisual material in e-learning?

The TEACH Act (The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act) was signed into law in November, 2002. According to Indiana University law professor, Kenneth Crews, it “redefines the terms and conditions on which accredited, nonprofit educational institutions …may use copyright protected materials in distance education – including on websites and by other digital means – without permission from the copyright owner and without payment of royalties.” However, the TEACH Act does not mean that you have carte blanche to use copyrighted material in e-learning.

Highlights of the TEACH Act:

  • Only students enrolled in the class are to have access to e-learning material, and that access is only for a limited time, e.g. while the class is in session.
  • Faculty can include copyrighted materials but only in “reasonable and limited portions.”
  • Analog works may be digitized for transmission, but only if not available in digital form.
  • Notice must be given to students that materials in the course may be under copyright protection.
  • Only materials lawfully made and acquired may be used and they must be transmitted “in the context of mediated instructional activities.”
  • The digitized material cannot be textbooks and other materials “typically purchased or acquired by students.”
  • Storage of transmitted material is permitted after use, as long as that storage is out of reach of the students.

For further detail, please see an excellent explanation of the TEACH Act in an article by Kenneth Crews, “New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act” available at http://www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html.

The text of the full Act is on the North Carolina State University Libraries, Office of Legal Affairs website at http://www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/legislative/teachkit/act_text.html.

To be on the safe side, it is always wise to seek copyright permission. Certainly, if you would like to have longer portions or full lengths of AV Library works as part of your e-learning classes, you will need to seek copyright permission and possibly a license at a price from the copyright holder. Often, cinematic productions are available only at extortionate prices. Please contact the AV Library (X7355 or X6590) for help if you need to seek permission to use our materials. We will be happy to assist you.

If you have any questions regarding the above information, please contact Mary Lou Neighbour, AV Librarian, X7355, mneighbo@mc3.edu. Further links on the copyright laws; tutorials and guides on copyright; and digital copyright and distance education may be found on our Library Internet Links.

Note: The above summary is for informational purposes only. It does not constitute legal advice. Information is from Copyright Essentials for Librarians and Educators by Kenneth Crews (2000); Libraries and Copyright by Laura Gasaway (1994); and “New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act,” by Kenneth Crews (2002).