COPYRIGHTS IN THE CLASSROOM By: Heather Salazar

What is copyright Infringement? Whenever you use something that doesn’t belong to you without the permission of the person who created it. For teachers For students As a teacher, make sure all of the content you use in the classroom is used correctly under the copyright laws. When making a power point for the class, make sure to give credit where you take ideas from, and to cite everything. When using other things such as video clips, and pieces of music, etc. make sure you have permission and are following the amount allowed for use. When a student is doing research, creating a project, or writing a paper about something that was written or created by someone else, make sure a citation page is correctly used, and all material is following the copyright standards.

Depending on the extent, a fine from $200-$150,000 can be given, and/or you can be sentenced to jail time! The reason why a fine can be given is because the person you are taking information form could be loosing money due to what you have said. Copyrighting is not just if you take something/information that belongs to someone else and reproduce and sale it, it is also if you are saying something bad about their work and causing them not to be able to sell their work, as well as using too much of their work and calling it your own! If you have a question about an assignment you are doing, and want to use something someone has already written about, besides general information, ask your teacher how to cite their work so you give them the credit!

“Fair Use” is a copyright principle that says that the public is entitled to use pieces of copyrighted material for the use of criticism and commentary. The people included in this clause are the general public. If I wanted to criticize someone's writing I should be allowed to without the permission of the writer, but if it is something the writer does not like he or she is allowed to sue me. Deciding whether something is fair use or not is mostly under the hand of the judge, however, there are 4 factors that are considered. 1. The purpose and character of your use. 2. The nature of the copyright work. 3. The amount and substantiality of the portion taken. 4. The effect of the use upon the potential market.

When using taped video from a TV show- only programs broadcasted to the general public can be taped, the teacher should ask the school to tape the program he or she wants for instruction, the tape cannot be altered in anyway, it must be issued within 10 days of its tapping, and it can only be copied in a few copies. It is important that the teacher (or school) contacts the PBS-Public broadcasting system to ask for further guidelines. When using film In the classroom- only 10% of a copyrighted work, or 3 minutes, whichever is less, can be used and the clip cannot be altered in any way. When using music in the classroom (that you didn’t buy)- can only use 10% or copyrighted music, and no more then 30 seconds. When using someone else’s words in the classroom (whether on projects made by student like a paper, or teacher related works such as a powerpoint over a person)- Up to 10% or 1000 words is okay, whichever is less. (Entire poem, if less the 250 words, 250 words or less if longer poem, no more than 5 poems or excerpts of different poems if from an anthology, and only 3 poems or excerpts per poet.)

Often times, students and teachers will make educational websites, whether for a project or for an assignment… make educational websites, whether for a project or for an assignment… When doing so there are five things the student and teacher must consider: 1. Assume it is protected 2.Read click-wrap agreements-don’t assume things like clip art, and materials labeled “royalty free” can be copied or distributed without authorization 3.Remove unauthorized material 4.Investigate claims promptly 5.When in doubt, seek permission

There is a general 5 step process… 1. Determine if permission is needed 2. Identify the owner 3. Identify the rights needed 4. Contact the owner and negotiate whether payment is required 5. Get your permission agreement in writing

When creating a presentation for a class project, students need to be cautious of where they get information, and make sure they are giving the right people the credit they deserve. Teachers as well need to be cautious of where they are getting information to use in their classroom and taking classroom assignment ideas from. If there are questions on whether something is allowed, teachers and students both should take the steps necessary in order to prevent copying other peoples work. After all, wouldn’t you be upset if someone took credit for all the hard work you put into assignments and/or classroom planning?

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