Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
LAITS Technology Workshop
Copyright Law
for educators
Georgia Harper, The University of Texas at Austin Libraries
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 1/22
Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Overview
• Purpose of copyright
– Improving society by
increasing knowledge
– Balancing interests
• Owners’ rights; users’ rights
• Copyright basics
– Illustrate the balance
Jacques Derrida
• Success is debatable
Georgia
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 2/22
Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Copyright basics
• What does copyright protect
• When does it begin and end
• What does it mean to owners
– Who owns what, and transferring
all/some rights
• What does it mean to users
– Fair use
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 3/22
Introduction Reality check
Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
But first, what do you know --
and want to know?
• Ownership
• Fair use
• Freely available Web content:
Creative Commons
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
What does copyright protect
• Original expression – a person’s
unique way of saying something
• Fixed in a tangible medium
• Only requires minimum creativity
• Does not protect facts
• Does not protect ideas, systems,
processes
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
When does it begin
• Today: protection starts at the
moment a work is fixed in a
tangible medium
• It’s automatic
• Notice is not required
• Registration carries certain benefits
but is only required to file a lawsuit
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 6/22
Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
When does it end
• Works published before 1978
– Publication + 95 years or 28 years if published
before 1964 and not renewed
• Works created during/after 1978
– Life of author + 70
– Works for hire: Publication + 95/creation + 120
• Works unpublished before 1978
– Life of author + 70 or 2003, whichever is longer
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Ownership
• First principle: the author is the owner
• Second principle: there may be more
than one author
– Contributors of copyrightable expression
– At the time of creation:
•Intend to create a unified whole
•Intend to be joint authors
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Work for hire I
• Employee’s work within the scope of
employment
– At work
– During work hours
– Using work facilities and resources
– To serve employer’s business needs
(clients, students, other employees)
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Work for hire II
• Specially commissioned or ordered work
– If the parties agree in a signed written document
– For use as a 1) contribution to a collective work
2) part of a movie or AV work 3) compilation
4) translation 5) supplementary work
6) instructional text 7) test 8) answer material
for a test or 9) an atlas
• How much you pay is irrelevant – without
following the rules, it’s not work for hire
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 10/22
Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Transferring ownership/rights
• Owners can transfer copyrights
– Faculty authors typically transfer their
copyrights to publishers
• Owners can license their rights
– Copy, perform, display, adapt, distribute
– All rights, some rights, short time,
forever, limited purpose, etc.
– Creative Commons works convey licenses
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 11/22
Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Choosing a CC license
• CC license basics: all include
attribution requirement
• The copyright owner chooses other
restrictions, if desired
– Yes or no to commercial works
– Yes or no to derivatives
– If derivatives are permitted, must new
work bear same CC license (share-alike)
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Intellectual property policy
• Policy can allocate ownership
– University
– Faculty
• Policy can give non-owners a share
of the rights bundle
– Use
– Attribution
– Reimbursement
– Share of royalties
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
So, who owns course materials?
• Always start with “The author is the owner”
• Next, ask, “Was the work created within
scope of employment, or commissioned?”
– What does your policy say about these
types of works
– Remember that your classroom students
are neither employees nor contractors --
they own the copyrights in their works
• Has ownership been transferred
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Owner’s exclusive rights
• Make copies
• Create derivative works
• Distribute, display, and perform
works publicly
• Artists’ moral rights
– Integrity/attribution
• Controlling copies: not the only way
– Billions and billions of freely available materials
online undermine argument that exclusive
control is necessary for thriving creative market
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use/CC licenses
Exemptions for educators
• Fair use (17 USC 107)
• Library’s special privileges (108)
• First sale doctrine (109)
• Educational performances and
displays (the TEACH Act (110))
• Modifications for blind
and disabled (121)
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use/CC licenses
Role of fair use
• Fair use embodies a balance of
interests
– Between owner control and public access
– Between owner control and public’s First
Amendment rights
– This is where creativity gets a break
• Fair use addresses market failures
– Facilitates good, but uneconomic uses
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use statute
• 17 USC 107
• Uses such as
– criticism, commentary, news reporting,
teaching (including multiple copies for
classroom use), scholarship and research
• Four factor fair use test
1. Character of the use
2. Nature of the material used
3. Amount and importance of part used
4. Effect on market for permission/original
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use/CC licenses
Best practices
Best practices and guidelines are contextual
– Guidelines: Coursepacks; reserves; image
archives; multimedia, etc.
– Best practices: Media education; documentary
films; remix
• Best practices’ principles can be applied to
contexts not yet covered
• One must understand risk tolerance,
aversion and analysis!
• Using a Creative Commons alternative
avoids entirely the need to rely on fair use
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Fair use/CC licenses
CC licensed works as
alternatives to fair use
• CC licensed works are located all over
the Web: images, audio, video, text
• Search engines optimized for CC
search can find them because the
works include an html tag embedded
in the snippet of code that displays
the CC logo on the work
– Returns only results licensed as requested
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
For more information
• The Copyright Crash Course
copyright.lib.utexas.edu
• Center for Social Media
– Best Practices guides
www.centerforsocialmedia.org/
resources/fair_use
• Creative Commons
www.creativecommons.org
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Introduction Reality check Basics Ownership Fair use/CC licenses
Summary
• Copyright’s purpose is to improve society
by increasing knowledge
– The law achieves its purpose by balancing
interests
– Owner’s rights and users rights are both vital to
achieving the law’s purpose
• Creative Commons licenses improve access
to information for creators and consumers
11/16/2011 Licensed under a CC*BY 3.0 U.S. license 22/22