Hey, Educators, Do You Know Your CopyRights from Wrongs?
Copyright and Fair Use of printed or digital information can be complex, but with the right reference sources, basic education, and Fair Use checklists, the utilization of a work may be narrowed down and determined accurately with confidence. Researching and reading more into 'Copyright and Fair Use' information, feels like sitting in a courtroom as a juror. I am just provided the facts from 2 different perspectives, but there is only one outcome, which ought to lead to justice. Individuals may have their own justification on citation of works, but in actuality, there is a correct process to cite a work. Prior to researching into copyright and fair use information, as long as the work, image, quote, or printed material being used for any assignment, was referenced within text and cited at the end of a document, that was good enough for me.
Ha! Let's Begin with the Definitions...
A basic definition out of the dictionary, as stated by J.D. Graveline within an article from College and Undergraduate Libraries (2010), copyright protection gives creators "the protection of the works of artists and authors giving them the exclusive rights to publish their work or determine who may so publish". As with many other policies, events occur and force change to existing policies. Therefore in legal terms, copyright protection begins at the moment the "original work of authorship is fixed on any tangible medium of expression," Graveline (p2), examples to explain further, include when a work is put into some permanent form, written on paper, saved as a computer file, or even painted on canvas.
However ! There are EXCEPTIONS to Every Rule!
Have you met Fair Use? Fair Use is the ability to use a reasonable portion of a copyrighted work without the copyholder's permission under certain circumstances (Graveline, p. 2). If you find yourself in question of determining if a document or material falls within fair use, balance out these four factors:
1. the purpose of use is for commercial nature or non-profit educational purpose
2. nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to copyrighted material as a
whole
4. the effect of the use of the potential market for or value of copyrighted work
Image Source: Giphy
| Factors to consider: | How this affects use: | |
| 1 | The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes | Uses in nonprofit educational institutions are more likely to be fair use than works used for commercial purposes, but not all educational uses are fair use |
| 2 | The nature of the copyrighted work | Reproducing a factual work is more likely to be fair use than a creative, artistic work such as a musical composition |
| 3 | The amount and significance of the portion used in relation to the entire work | Reproducing smaller portions of a work is more likely to be fair use than larger portions |
| 4 | The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work | Uses which have no or little market impact on the copyrighted work are more likely to be fair than those that interfere with potential markets |
Image source : University of California
Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976 was based on a history of judicial decisions that the American Library Association (2024), recognized unauthorized infringements of copyright were determined "fair uses". Hence, the Fair Use Act was created with its four factors of use determination. TEACH Act of 2002 addresses the growth of online learning in the same way as face-to-face teaching instruction allowing educators to use copyright material for distance learning without obtaining permission from the copyright holder (Schlipp, 2008).
Image Source: Google Images clip art Lagola, wrote in "A Teacher's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use" (2021), just because you are awesome educators does not blanket protect you from using copyright material, education on copyright and fair use is so important to:
1. Avoid your school district receiving fines for citation violations
Image Source: Google images clip art
Image Source: Google images clip art 2. Model proper use to other educators, students, and all staff
Image Source: Google Image clip artLimit Exposure - use a LMS (learning management system) to share published material
Use Google Tools setting - filters images safe for use
Install browser extensions - install add-ons from Flaticon's icons so can easily search and insert images
Project Gutenberg - get familiar with an online library of over 70,000 free e-books, copyrights expired
Bookmark CC sites - invaluable for finding content you can use legally
Wikipedia - site is subject to hacks (both malicious and comical) and the information needs to be verified with other sources
Free audiobooks - Go to Bookriot.com for a detailed look at free audiobook websites
Resources from government sites - usually is all fair use information
No matter what - do not make or distribute copies of entire books, workbooks, study guides, practice books, or an entire page from a text book; purchase enough copies for each student or obtain permission from the owner to make copies
Avoid copying and distributing "creative material" - novels, plays, movies, and poems are likely to be exempt from Fair Use
Use published sources - NEVER copy and distribute unpublished material
When in doubt - reach out - if a publication is an out-of-print book, reach out to the publishing company and ask permission to make copies
Plan ahead - Don't wait until last minute and use something in haste
So how does one get permission?
There may be a form to fill out or submit, very similar to the one used at University of California in this example. You may refer to the following Infographic for Copyright & Fair Use Tips all in one spot:
Works Cited
American Library Association. (2024). https://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=copyrightarticle&Templatesplay.cfm&ContentID=26700
Graveline, J. D.
(2010). Debunking Common Misconceptions and Myths. College & Undergraduate Libraries, 17(1), 100–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10691310903584650
Lagola, Karen. March 22, 2021. "A Teacher's Guide To Copyright and Fair Use: There are rules when it comes to copyrighted material in the classroom--and easy ways to make sure you are always in the clear." Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/teachers-guide-copyright-and-fair-use/
Schlipp, J. (2008).
Coaching Teaching Faculty: Copyright Awareness Programs in Academic
Libraries. Kentucky Libraries, 72(3), 18–22.
Hello Nicole!
ReplyDeleteI really love the infographic you made! You made it very easy to understand quickly the difference between copyright and fair use. As I am reading this, it is scary to think how many schools technically are copywriting by some of the things they copy and distribute. I really enjoyed the list of suggestions you provided as well on how to avoid copyright as an educator. Something I need to get better is filtering my images for safe use.
Your tips and resources are great, Nicole. You've demonstrated that there is a lot we can do to avoid violating copyright. No excuses!
ReplyDelete