BEGINNERS GUIDE
to
Copyright in the classroom
Or how I
survived the longest hour
of my life
by Charles White

I AM NOT A
COPYRIGHT LAWYER
OR AN EXPERT!
AND THAT IS NO
CARP!

Agenda
Have a BASIC understanding of
copyright laws and how they apply to
the classroom
Understand the concept of “Fair Use”
Understand what the “Creative
Commons” license means

Copyright
is a property right
attached to
original works* of
art or literature
*Literary works (including
software), music, drama,
pictures, movies, sounds,
architecture, sculpture, and
pantomimes
- Does not cover facts or ideas

What does it cover?
• literary works (e.g., all text, including
computer software);
• musical works;
• dramatic works;
• pantomimes and choreographic works;
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• sound recordings;
• architectural works.

What does NOT it cover?
• FACTS and IDEAS: While the protection
does cover the particular, distinctive words a
writer uses to present ideas or facts, control
over the underlying concepts or truths cannot
be owned. Thus, a biography about a U.S.
President qualifies for copyright, but the
events and facts of his life do not. (1)
• Works that do not qualify: To Qualify for
copyrights protection, the work must be 1.
original 2. creative to a minimal degree 3. in a
fixed form of expression.

Items not included are:
This is a
ideas, concepts, or discoveries; trademark
titles, names, short phrases, and slogans;
works that are not fixed in a tangible form of
expression such as improvised speech or dance;
works consisting entirely of information that is
commonly available and contains no originality;
anything written or created by the US
government.

So.....
If I create it, it
is my property
Hey, I made
that!

Taking someone’s
property is
stealing!

Stealing is
wrong!

Violators are
fed to angry
LIons
And he’s
not Lying
YIKES!

BUT WAIT!
There is hope for
teachers

Fair Use
Fair use explicitly allows use of copyrighted
materials for educational purposes such as
criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching,
scholarship, and research. Rather than listing
exact limits of fair use, copyright law provides
four standards for determination of the fair use
exemption:
That
seems fair!

Fair Use - The Big 4
Purpose of use: Copying and using selected parts of
copyrighted works for specific face-to-face educational
purposes qualifies as fair use, especially if the copies
are made spontaneously, are used temporarily, and are
not part of an anthology.
Nature of the work: For copying paragraphs from a
copyrighted source, fair use easily applies. For copying
a chapter, fair use may be questionable.

Fairer Use - The Big 4
Proportion/extent of the material used: Duplicating
excerpts that are short in relation to the entire
copyrighted work or segments that do not reflect the
\"essence\" of the work is usually considered fair use.
The effect on marketability: If there will be no
reduction in sales because of copying or distribution,
the fair use exemption is likely to apply. This is the most
important of the four tests for fair use (Princeton
University).

How much is 2 much?
Common Fair Use Recommendations By DPI
Text: Up to 10% of a copyrighted work or
1000 words, whichever is less
Movies: Up to 10% of a copyrighted work
or 3 minutes, whichever is less
Music: Up to 10% of a copyrighted musical
composition, but no more than 30 seconds
Don’t
yell at me
http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/copyright1.html

BUT WAIT!
It gets even better
What are you
trying to say
exactly?

The big One - Section 110*
performance or display of a work by instructors or
pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities
of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or
similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case
of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the
performance, or the display of individual images, is
given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made
under this title, and that the person responsible for the
performance knew or had reason to believe was not
lawfully made;
What?
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#110

End of Fair Use
Fair use ends when the creator
loses control of his product's use,
such as when it is accessed by
others over the Internet.
ns
io
L
ry
ng
u
H

What is Creative Commons?
Creative Commons is a nonprofit
organization that works to increase the
amount of creativity (cultural,
educational, and scientific content)
available in the “commons”- the body of
work that is available to the public for
free and legal sharing, use, reproducing,
and remixing

Attribution. You let others copy, distribute, display, and perform
your copyrighted work — and derivative works based upon it —
but only if they give credit the way you request.
Noncommercial. You let others copy, distribute, display, and
perform your work — and derivative works based upon it — but
for noncommercial purposes only.
No Derivative Works. You let others copy, distribute, display, and
perform only verbatim copies of your work, not derivative works
based upon it.
Share Alike. You allow others to distribute derivative works only
under a license identical to the license that governs your work.

Where will you see these?
Flickr
Wikispaces
LearnNC

?What did
he just say?

Sources
www.Flickr.com
www.creativecommons.org
www.copyright.gov
Lion - http://i268.photobucket.com/albums/jj2/
jacintababy/lion-africa-angry.jpg
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/clipart/
default.aspx
http://www.hasslefreeclipart.com
http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/
research.htm#Copyright%20and%20Fair
%20Use%20Defined

What are your next steps?
You will be emailed a worksheet
The worksheet is due by friday
March 6th or no credit will be
issued
You will also be emailed a survey