Copyright Law Presented by Laura Heins

What is Copyright Law? A law that protects your original work and gives you the exclusive rights to it. Ensures that you receive credit for your work. Includes any original work, such as text, art, music, etc.

Warning! Penalties for Copyright Infringement It is a felony! Copyright owner can file a lawsuit in federal court – Issue a restraining order to prevent any more violations – Recover any money damages and any profits made by the infringer – Recover attorney fees – The court can choose to award sums of up to $250,000.00!

Fair Use: A Way Around Copyright Laws The public can freely use portions of copyright materials for the purposes of commentary & criticism parody news reporting research educational purposes

Conditions for Deciding Fair Use 1 The purpose and character of your use 2 The nature of the copyrighted work 3 The amount and substantiality of the portion taken 4 The effect of the use upon the potential market

The Purpose & Character of Your Use Are you transforming the original work by adding new expression or meaning? Did you add value to the original work by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, or new understandings?

The Nature of the Copyrighted Work You are more likely to have a case for fair use if you copy: – Factual works – Published works

The Amount & Substantiality of the Portion Taken The less you take the better Do not take the most memorable or important part of the work If you are copying material for a parody, you are able to borrow much more

The Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market Will your use deprive the owner of income? Will your use undermine a new or potential market for the copyrighted work?

Using Multimedia in the Classroom You can create multimedia works for educational purposes – Can be used for up to two years Only two copies of a multimedia project can be made Portion Limitations – 10% or 1,000 words of a copyrighted text – 10% but not more than 30 seconds of music & lyrics – Up to 5 images by the same artist or photographer – 10% or 2,500 fields or cell entries from a database or data table

Conditions for Using Copyrighted Text A chapter from a book An article from a periodical or newspaper A short story, short essay, or short poem A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture Teachers can make 1 copy

Conditions for Using Copyrighted Text Make only 1 copy per student Put the copyright notice on each copy DO NOT: – Copy more than one poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts from the same author – Copy more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume – Copy materials that were intended for educational use

Conditions for Using Copyrighted Musical Scores DO NOT: – Take more than 10% of the whole work – Distort the fundamental character of the work or alter the lyrics – Copy music to create anthologies or compilations – Copy music intended to be consumable – Copy music for the purpose of performance – Exclude the copyright notice

Conditions for Using Copyrighted Musical Scores You can make a copy of copyrighted music for educational purposes If the copyrighted music is out of print you can request permission to reproduce it from the music publisher. Students can make a recording of a performance for evaluation or rehearsal purposes

Guidelines for Using Film Teachers can show a film in the classroom if: – It is shown for educational purposes – It is shown in a nonprofit educational institution – It is a lawful copy of the film You cannot show a film for entertainment purposes!

Can You Tape a TV Program for Classroom Use? Yes, under fair use! Rules: – The tape can only be shown for the first 10 consecutive school days after it is made After this it can be used for evaluation – A limited number of copies can be made – The tape cannot be altered

How Can You Get Permission to Use Copyrighted Material? Contact the copyright owner directly Ask the Copyright Office to search its records to find out who the copyright owner is

Posting Items to a Website Make sure that you do not post any copyrighted items on your website This would be considered an infringement of copyright laws!

Why You Should Obey Copyright Laws It is a felony to infringe on copyright laws Serve as a good example for your students Show respect for the original works of others Give credit to owners for their work

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