This document provides an overview of U.S. copyright law, including key details such as: the first copyright law passed in 1790; requirements for copyright protection such as originality and fixed expression; ownership typically falling to the creator or employer; fair use provisions including nonprofit educational use; exceptions under the Teach Act; what constitutes infringement; and unprotected elements like ideas and facts. It emphasizes the importance of copyright in education to teach students the necessity of citing sources and avoiding practices like filesharing without permission.

1. Jessica BurniasEDTC 6340.66September 4, 2011Copyright:What You Should Know

2. The First Copyright Law1790Author was granted protectionMaps, Charts, or Books14 yearsRenewal term of up to 14 yearsExclusive right to PrintReprintPublishVend

3. Copyright BasicsU.S. copyright law is found in Title 17 of the United States Code To qualify for copyright protection the work must beOriginalCreative to a minimal degreeIn a fixed or tangible form of expression

4. Ownership/AuthorOwnership usually falls under the owner Ownership could be sometimes be the employer depending on why and when it was created“An author is someone who contributes copyrightable expression to the work.”Examples of copyrightable expressionPoetry, Prose, software applications, artwork, musical notation, recorded music and/or song, animations, video, java applets, a web page, a website design, blog posts and comments, architectural drawings, photographs

5. Fair UseCopyright Act of 1976 Sections 107-118Contains a list of various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair:Criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and researchFour factors to determine fair use:Is it for commercial use or is for nonprofit educational purposesNature of the workThe portion being used in relationship to the wholeWill it effect the value of the work

6. The Teach Act Section 110(1&2)This allows teachers to display or show and perform others’ work in the classroom“A teacher may show or perform any work related to the curriculum, regardless of the medium, face-to-face in the classroom”“Audiovisual works and dramatic musical works may only be shown as clips”

7. Copyright InfringementAnyone who uses an author’s work without the owner’s permission is guiltyExamples: Using an author’s work and proclaiming as your ownMaking copies of a book and selling the copiesDownloading music without paying for a copy

8. What is Not Protected by Copyright LawIdeas, procedures, methods, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devicesTitles, names, short phrases, and slogansWorks by the US government

9. Alternatives There are different websites that contain works that can be usedExample www.clipart.comPublic DomainIntellectual property, not owned or controlled by anyoneThese are public property anyone can use them for any purposeIncludes Works with expired copyrightsWorks released to the public domain by the copyright holderGovernment documents

10. Why is Copyright Important in the Classroom? To demonstrate to our students the importance of giving credit to the author/owner for their hard work.Encourage our students:Not to burn CDsFilesharingLime WireNot to cut and pasteParaphraseCite Sources

11. Works CitedCopyright Crash Course. 29 Aug 2011 <http://www.lib.utexas.edu/>U.S. Copyright Office –Fair Use. Copyright-Fair Use. 4 Sept. 2011 <http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html>