What an educator needs to know about Copyrights in Education

What is a copyright? ©  The exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.

Translation: ©  Anything that is created and tangible (not an idea) is owned by someone  Example: The instant the shutter clicks on a camera, the photograph is copyright material of the photographer, unless… there is no film or memory card.

Infringement  Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is reproduced, distributed, performed, publicly displayed, or made into a derivative work without the permission of the copyright owner.

How can educators avoid infringement? By utilizing and understanding our two best friends in the copyright battle… FAIR USECREATIVE COMMONS

Roles of Fair Use and CC Section of the U.S. copyright law that states what copyright uses may be acceptable for certain purposes Education, News and Reporting, Criticism and Comment Non-profit organization that enables the sharing and use of copyright material through free legal tools Attempts to clear up some of the grey area of copyright/fair use law

Fair Use in Education  How Fair Use helps: More freedom in research, teaching and scholarship Gives flexibility to students in creation Fosters creativity by allowing teachers and students to pull from culture and add back  How Fair Use does not help: Fair Use is not a universal solvent that covers all use of materials in the classroom If the use is in an identical fashion to the original, for the same audience, or for commercial purposes (exceptions apply).

PSU Policy  duplicating-copyrighted-written-works.dot - Written Works Policy duplicating-copyrighted-written-works.dot  - Online Policy  cb4650a6cef8.pdf - Acceptable Use Policy cb4650a6cef8.pdf You may make a SINGLE copy of these items in preparation of a class or for research: ○ A chapter from a book ○ An article from a periodical or newspaper ○ Short Story, Essay or poem ○ Chart, graph, diagram, drawing,or picture from a book

PSU Policy You may make MULITPLE copies for classroom use if you meet the following tests ○ Brevity Test Certain amount of words or illustrations are used ○ Spontaneity test Decision to use the protected work is too soon to get permission ○ Cumulative Test Only used for one course, only one protected work, etc. ○ Explained in more detail in the policy online

Problems with Copyright  Difficult to get licensing You want to use more than a “Fair Use” amount, but you cannot get licensing from the owner.  To share or not to share? Inherently, creations have “All Rights Reserved”. Other users have to get your permission, or may simply not try if the process is too difficult  Too many gray areas Certain uses may be okay with the creator, while others are not – but how do we tell?

How can Creative Commons help?   Creative Commons allows creators to decide what level of sharing they are comfortable with “Middleman” between Copyright Law and Common Sense Example: You create a documentary film to expose pollution in a local lake. You want others to add to your findings, so you would like for them to use your film if needed. ○ Depending on the use, Copyright Law and Fair Use may prohibit this, but using Creative Commons, it can be allowed

Creative Commons Licenses   Clearly defines limitations and uses  Encourage students to apply Creative Commons licenses to their work Add to culture and knowledge base

Resources  Books Wilson, Lee. Fair Use, Free Use and Use by Permission: How to Handle Copyrights in All Media, New York, Allworth Press, 2005, Print Aufderheide, Patricia, and Peter Jaszi, Reclaiming Fair Use: How to Put Balance Back in Copyright, Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 2011, Print

Resources  Online A summary of cases involving Fair Use: use/cases/ use/cases/ General Copyright Information: Creative Commons: The Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education: practices/code-best-practices-fair-use-media- literacy-education practices/code-best-practices-fair-use-media- literacy-education

Resources  Online cont. A summary of the Publishers vs. Georgia State University casehttp://copyright.syr.edu/publishers-v- georgia-state/ georgia-state/

Summary  Fair use Powerful protector of Academic Freedom Not a universal solvent for all uses  Creative Commons Clears up confusion about what uses are permissible Licenses can be complicated If in doubt, consult the PSU official Copyright policy