1. Copyright Material: What constitutes “Fair Use”?
Over 2500 years ago, Aristotle explained that people create new ideas from old ideas. Since there are no new ideas under the sun, creativity consists of bringing old ideas together in new ways. (P. 8 HOBBS)

2. The Purpose of Copyright
Encourage the dissemination of information to the masses
Designed to encourage the development of new ideas and information
“Information that will benefit society as a whole”

3. What is copyright?
Copyright is the owner’s legal right to reproduce, display, transmit, or modify work they have created. It’s a type of author’s right; called intellectual property.

5. Copyright Confusion Lack of Formal Training Misinformation
Biased Educational Guidelines
“I heard it from a teacher, who got a memo from another teacher, who read in an that you could actually get in trouble for using videos in the classroom.” (p. 22 HOBBS)

6. See No Evil “With fair use, the sky’s the limit.” (p. 22 HOBBS)
“People can use anything they want if they don’t make a profit off it.” (p. 22 HOBBS)

7. Close the Door Policy Although educators are permitted to
Make a photocopy of a printed article
Use a school purchased DVD
Use a privately purchased copy of a DVD
Use an off-air taped movie
Use a rental DVD like Netfilx
The problem is that the “close the door” policy limits the distribution of new and innovative instructional to the classroom and prohibits their sharing outside the classroom.

8. Hyper-comply
The educator over regulates the classroom for fear of litigation or negative repercussions. (p. 24 HOBBS)

9. Educational Use Guidelines
Copyright confusion comes when people confuse the doctrine of fair use with “educational-use guidelines.” (p. 27 HOBBS)

10. Consequences of Copyright Confusion
People are afraid and misinformed
“One teacher was told by her school librarian that she would be personally liable for copyright violations and the school would not protect teachers if there was a lawsuit.” (p. 24 HOBBS)
The cost of the confusion is that teachers craft assignments that use technology and copyrighted materials explicitly for the classroom.

11. Fair Use Act
Four factors are considered when determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of 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
The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

12. Fair Use Explained
Context and situation determine how fair use applies.
Usually, people do not need to ask permission or pay a license fee in order to use a copyrighted work.
People must make a fair use determination by considering the facts of the situation with sound reasoning and judgment.

13. New Instructional Practices
“Transformativeness is the term emerging for the repurposing of copyrighted materials as part of the creative process.” (p. 9 HOBBS)
Has the user added value or repurposed the work?

14. Understanding Transformative Use
“The ultimate test of fair use… is whether the copyright law’s goal of promoting the progress of science and useful arts would be better served by allowing the use than by preventing it.” (p. 47 HOBBS)
Does the use benefit the social collective group more than it impacts the copyright holder?

15. Interpreting Transformativeness
There are two questions to consider for fair use:
Did the unlicensed use “transform” the material taken from the copyrighted work by using it for a different purpose than that of the original, or did it just repeat the work for the same intent and value as the original?
Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount, considering the nature of the copyrighted work and of the use? ? OR

16. The Issue of Market Impact
You should answer two questions:
How will my use of the materials affect the copyright owner’s ability to profit from their work?
Will my use of this work cause excessive economic harm to the copyright owner?

17. First Sale Doctrine:
“The Copyright Act of 1976 says that when you buy a legally produced copyrighted work, you can sell or loan that copy to others.” (p. 57 HOBBS)

18. Be Reasonable
“Fair use cannot be reduced to a checklist. Fair use requires that people think.” (p. 59 HOBBS)
It is tough to find a case where an educational employee or student was found guilty of copyright law infringement, because the 1976 Copyright Law broadly enables the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes.

19. Make certain you transform the copyrighted material into a new creative entity.
Do not purchase copyrighted material and share it so that others can avoid purchasing the material. If so, you have impacted the economic ability of the owner. That is not permitted.
Make sure you are acting within the reasonable job requirements of a nonprofit educational entity.
Finally and most importantly the specific use of copyrighted works should benefit society more than it hurts the copyright holder.

20. Code of Best Practices for Educators
Educators Can:
Make copies of newspaper articles TV shows, and other copyrighted works and use them and keep them for educational use.
Create curriculum materials and scholarship that contain embedded copyrighted materials;
Share, sell and distribute curriculum materials that contain embedded copyrighted materials.
Learners Can:
Use copyrighted works in creating new materials and
Distribute their works digitally if they meet the transformativeness standard.

21. Future of Copyright – Three Potential Outcomes
Creative Commons
“Grass Roots” Movement to Reclaim Fair Use
Abolish Copyright Law –
Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis.
“The general rule of law is, that the noblest of human productions-knowledge, truths ascertained, conceptions, and ideas become, after voluntary communication to others, free as the air to common use.” (P. 17 HOBBS)