Copyright Basics Harding Avenue Elementary School Juliet R. Ryan

Goals Better understanding of basic copyright laws Understanding of the “Fair Use” principle Copyright information to share with students This presentation will provide teachers with:

Copyright Law According to the Berne copyright convention, every creative work is copyrighted the moment it is created. No registration is required and the work does not necessarily need to be followed with the commonly understood “c in a circle” - ©. The copyrights lasts until 70 years after the author dies.

Copyright Infringement Copyright infringement is using or reproducing a person’s creative work. Copyrighted material can only be used with express permission from the creator of the work. Use of copyrighted material in elementary schools usually falls under the “fair use” guidelines.

MCPS Copyright Guidelines POLICY COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials In compliance with the Copyright Act of 1976, including the Guidelines for Classroom Copying and the Guidelines for the Educational Use of Music, copyrighted materials shall not be duplicated by school division employees or on division equipment, whether print or non-print, in violation of the exclusive rights of the holders of the copyright on such materials. The division superintendent shall designate a person responsible for disseminating copyright administrative procedures to school division employees. Copyrighted materials may be duplicated with the prior written permission of the copyright holder. Teachers shall get permission to use materials of the copyright owner whenever possible and feasible, unless the use of materials falls within a “fair use” as defined by law. Permission to duplicate copyright material shall be placed on file in the office of the person responsible for disseminating copyright administrative procedures for the school division. Teachers shall have access to resources which detail the specific “fair use” safe harbors for copying. The school division assumes no liability for infringement of copyright by individual employees.

Examples of copyrighted materials Books Workbooks Web sites Music Works of art Computer software Pictures & clipart Lesson plans DVD and VHS movies Digital video, including United Streaming (this list is not all inclusive)

Fair Use Fair use guidelines incorporate the use of small portions of copyright material for educational purposes. For example, a teacher can read a poem during a teaching unit on poetry without receiving direct permission from the poet. However, the same teacher would not be able to recite that same poem during a “Poetry Slam” at a local coffee shop, unless permission had been granted by the poet.

Amount Substantiality Amount substantiality refers to copying information from an on-line source or CD-ROM. While it is acceptable to copy parts of an article, students and teachers should be reminded not to print entire articles. Show students how to determine what specific information they need and then how to “cut and paste” just that information.

Public Domain Certain material is posted on various educational sites and is specifically meant to be shared among teachers. An example would be the Lesson Plans Library at discoveryschool.com. However, those plans are still copyrighted because they are an individual’s work. Teachers may use and reproduce those plans however, he or she may not claim them as their own or distribute them freely throughout the school unless copyright information is listed.

Movies for entertainment When public schools want to show a movie purely for entertainment purposes (ie. Indoor recess), it is required by law to obtain a license. This permission typically costs around $350 per year. The cost can be covered or shared with the PTA since in turn, they could use the license to show movies at a “Movie Night” for families, as long as an admission fee is not charged and no public advertising occurs.

Site License Example:

Get Permission Encourage and teach students how to write to an author or illustrator to request permission to use copyrighted material in their assignment or project.

Sample letter Here is a sample of a letter students can send to request permission to use a graphic or sound clip.

Teach by example Remember that copying CD’s, sharing music, downloading video clips, and forwarding pictures that someone else has taken are all considered to be acts of “cyber piracy”. Don’t allow it to occur in your classroom.

Works Cited dpi.wi.gov/lbstst/copyres.html policy.mcps.org/Section_6_ARTICLE_V_Policy_6- 5.3_COPYRIGHTED_MATERIALS.htm policy.mcps.org/Section_6_ARTICLE_V_Policy_6- 5.3_COPYRIGHTED_MATERIALS.htm scholar.lib.vt.edu/copyright/