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Web Page Objective and Background:
Objective: Participants will assess, review and gain a working knowledge of copyright and fair use guidelines in relation to technology applications and education.

Background: "Copyright" and "fair use" in the educational setting are often misunderstood especially in regard to Internet publications or when international lines are crossed. Other countries frequently legally define"copyright", what can be copyrighted, and what "fair use" means differently. Because the Internet can deliver information to your desktop from almost anywhere in the world it is easy to forget that this information may be covered by copyright laws other than those from where you reside. Technology makes it very easy to inappropriately use intellectual property or behave unethically and not even realize it!

Originally written to support the PGCPS Technology Literacy Challenge Fund Grant initiative training, the information on this page has been updated and expanded.

Directions: It is recommended that participants collaborate in using this self-paced tutorial and discuss copyright and fair use findings.

Note: The following web sites are not part of Instructional Technology or the Prince George's County Public Schools web page, they are links to pages located on the Internet. While these web sites have been reviewed and carefully selected for this self-paced tutorial, web site content and quality can change quickly. If you choose to have students use any of these sites, please review the web site personally and determine if it is appropriate for your students to use!

Disclaimer: This site is designed to facilitate exchanges between educators and facilitate these educators to make informed, ethical decisions in regard to information usage. Nothing herein should be construed as legal advice and the information garnered from these links should not be substituted for formal legal advice from an attorney well versed in school law and copyright law.

PGCPS Administrative Bulletin 6160 Copyright Guidelines:

Click the link to open this PGCPS Board of Education approved document:
Administrative Procedure 6160: Copyright Guidelines , 9 pages

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What is copyrighted?
"Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed ..." This includes the original work of students! (United States Code: Title 17, Section 102)

For an informative "Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers" chart, developed by Technology & Learning, see: http://i.cmpnet.com/techlearning/pdf/db_area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright_chart.pdf Note: this link will open up a two page PDF document sideways.

For a handy chart detailing when most materials move into the public domain, created by the University of North Carolina, see: http://www.unc.edu/%7Eunclng/public-d.htm

The United States follows the Berne Copyright Convention. This means that almost all original works, including Internet published pictures, text and sound files, created after April 1, 1989, do not have to have the copyright protection symbol © or explicit copyright statement; copyright is automatically assumed.

For more information go to:

The World Intellectual Property Organization: http://www.wipo.org

Cornell Law School; Berne Convention for the protection of literary and artistic works: http://www.law.cornell.edu/treaties/berne/overview.html

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Self-paced Learning Guide:
Click once on any of the following links to quickly go to that topic:
Copyright basics
Jumpstart your knowledge
What is fair use?
In case of doubt ask for permission

Copyright basics:
Copyright is a hotly debated area and interpretation of the law depends on a variety of factors that can be organized around these five points:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• How much of it and often will it be used?

In very general terms, an educator has the most flexibility in the legitimate use of copyrighted materials when behind the closed classroom door. Some experts consider a school's intraweb analogous to the classroom however not everyone agrees with this interpretation.

The law is more strict in regard to copyrighted materials used in a public forum, such as on a public web page or presentation outside the classroom. Debate includes the areas of using, copying or altering text, illustrations, Internet resources, motion media, music, numerical data sets, and even if it is legal to link to a web page other than the main or home page!

The bottom line is if there is a question ask for permission! Use the following links to learn more:

"Copyright Tutorial": Several interesting problem-solving examples are analyzed in this "copyright and fair use" self-paced tutorial developed by the University of Texas; walk through many issues you may encounter as you create digital media: http://www.lib.utsystem.edu/copyright/

In July 1996 the Copyright Office, National Education Association, and other stakeholders held a conference called CONFU (The Conference on Fair Use). The goal was to develop guidelines on the use of copyrighted works when creating educational multimedia. These Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines allow teachers to use portions of legitimately acquired works when producing educational multimedia projects with these constraints:

• Educational purposes such as:
  • face-to-face instruction
  • as part of assignments
  • remote instruction within a secure site
• Projects are limited by:
  • time - may be used for up to 2 years
  • portion
    • motion media - 10% or 3 minutes (whichever is less)
    • text - 10% or 1000 words (whichever is less)
    • poems - full poem if less than 250 words; no more than 3 poems from one author or 5 poems from an anthology
    • music, lyrics, and music video - 10%, but not to exceed 30 seconds, of music and lyrics from a single work
    • illustrations and photographs - no more than 5 images from a single artist or photographer; 10%, or not more than 15 images, from a single published work
  • distribution
    • two use copies (one for reserve)

Still confused? Continue reading:

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Jump start your knowledge base:
"A Visit to Copyright Bay" supported by the University of St. Francis, Joliet, IL, is an extremely well done copyright issue overview that incidentally illustrates exemplar web design: http://www.stfrancis.edu/cid/copyrightbay/

"Copyright in an Electronic Environment (Guidelines from Consortium of College & University Media Centers)" is a very helpful page posted by North Carolina Public Schools; the "General Guidelines" section will help you develop a sense of what is appropriate and inappropriate use for both students and educators: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

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What is "fair use"?
Most educators are interested in "fair use". Fair use cases that reach the courts are based on the these four factors (United States Code: Title 17, Section 107):

• the purpose and character of the use
• the nature of the work
• the amount of work that is used in relation to the whole
• the effect the use has on the potential market for or value of the work

TechLearning's "The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use": http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/TL/2002/10/copyright.html.

Is your use fair?
For an excellent guide to help determine if your use is "fair" see the site the New York City Public Schools has posted, Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html#2

"Copyright in an Electronic Environment":
The New York City Public Schools has also posted excellent general usage guidelines plus the percentage or amount of text, media, illustrations, Internet, etc. permissible. Special attention should be given to this site if you are doing project based learning activities: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

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In case of doubt, ask for permission!
To be on the safe side, unless otherwise noted on the source, it is always advisable to get permission to use the work. MidLink Magazine, The Digital Magazine, by Students, for Students - Ages 8 - 18, has created a series of permission request letter templates you will find helpful: http://www.ncsu.edu/midlink/permission.html

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Official United States Government Web sites:

U.S. Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov/
The official home page of the U.S. Copyright Office which is a part of the Library of Congress. This site also includes links related to copyright issues.

US Patent and Trademark Office: http://www.uspto.gov/
The official government home page of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Patent and Trademark Office.

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Important Organizations Web sites:

American Library Association: http://www.ala.org
The ALA has published several informative articles about education and copyright issues. Look on the home page for the "Search" box and type in "Copyright".

World Intellectual Property Organization http://www.wipo.org/
The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), which is an agency of the United Nations, is an intergovernmental organization that deal with the issues surrounding "Intellectual Property".

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University or Educational Institution Web sites:

A Crash Course in Copyright: http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/cprtindx.htm
Supported by the University of Texas, this is an informative online tutorial on copyright.

Cornell University; Hypertext Version of the Copyright Law - Welcome to the United States Code: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/
Hosted by the Legal Information Institute of Cornell University, this searchable page states that it is generated from the most recent version of the U.S. Code made available by the US House of Representatives

Copyright Resources: http://www.mediafestival.org/downloads.html
The California Student Media and Multimedia Festival have organized a series of copyright documents, quizzes and links that will be useful when planning project base learning activities.

Copyright Resources on the Internet: http://groton.k12.ct.us/mts/pt2a.htm
The Groten Public Schools, Mystic, CT, provides this annotated index of copyright web sites that are of interest to educators.

Stanford University - Fair Use and Copyright: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
An extensive and searchable Fair Use and Copyright page.

Talbot County Public Schools Copyright links: http://www.tcps.k12.md.us/ehs/lib/copyright.html
An impressive list of links to copyright resources, including sources of free music and graphics, citing sources and a copyright bibliography.

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Commercial or Personal Web sites:

Keeping it Legal, Questions Arising out of Web Site Management: http://optin.iserver.net/fromnow/jun96/legal.html
Jamie McKenzie, FNO web site creator and a noted expert in the field addresses copyright issues and web page management.

BitLaw, a resource on Technology law: http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/index.html
Created by a technology law firm, this commercial web site provides a great deal of informative legal opinions.

The Copyright Web Site: http://www.benedict.com/
Established by Benedict O'Mahoney 5/1/95, this commercial web site provides basic information and provides examples about legislation and issues of concern.

Cyber Bee Copyright Workshop: http://www.cyberbee.com/copyrt.html
Linda C. Joseph has created a very useful and educator oriented web site! These pages includes lesson plans and activities you can use with students.

Tech Learning, the Resource for Education Technology Leaders: http://techlearning.com/
Type in "copyright" in the search box to locate many relevant and informative articles.

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Suggested Reading - A Brief Bibliography:

Crews, Kenneth D. "Copyright Essentials for Librarians and Educators." ALA, 2000.

Simpson, Carol. "Copyright for Schools, A Practical Guide." Third Edition, Linworth Publishing, Inc. 2001.

Video and Copyright, ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 7: http://www.ala.org/library/fact7.html

Talbot County Public Schools, Copyright Bibliography, includes links to free media and other information: http://www.tcps.k12.md.us/ehs/lib/copyright.html#Copyright Bibliography

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Plagiarism

Plagiarism PowerPoint Show - very useful for faculty inservices: Please contact Ms. Sheila LoCastro, LTSG Information Technology Specialist, salocastro@pgcps.org

Tech Learning Article, Pirating, By Diane D. Painter, Ph.D. http://www.techlearning.com/db_area/archives/WCE/archives/pirating.htm(10/1/2001)

USA Today Article, Schools Get Advanced Tools To Nab Cheaters, by Ms. Karen Thomas: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/june01/2001-06-11-cheaters.htm (11/6/2001)
Warning: This link may generate pop-up windows.

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