Copyright Information

The Copyright Law attempts to balance the protection of the rights of the author with the needs of society, Even though the author or creator is given certain specific rights under Section 106 of the law, Section 107 begins to set some limitations on those rights followed, in other sections, by specific exemptions granted for particular situations.

Fair use of a copyrighted work including such use by reproduction of copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship or research is not an infringement of copyright.

Criteria and Guidelines:

The courts use the following four criteria to determine Fair Use:

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. #17 USC Section 107

Blackboard and Copyright:

Copyright guidelines (pdf 28.98 kB)  for posting and linking to supplemental electronic materials when using Blackboard

Multimedia Guidelines:

• Portion Limitations
  The Guidelines for Educational Multimedia provide specific portion limitations that may be taken from copyrighted sources and used in multimedia productions. It should be noted, however, that it may still be legally possible, under "Fair Use," to utilize portions of copyrighted material greater than those indicated but one would have to prove, if challenged, that they were operating within the "Fair Use" criteria established in the law.
• Motion Media
  May take up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, in the aggregate, from a copyrighted motion media work to incorporate in a multimedia production. (Motion media would include videotapes, DVD's, film, etc.)
• Music, Lyrics, Music Video
  May use up to 10% or a maximum of 30 seconds of music and lyrics taken from an individual musical work (or in the aggregate of extracts from an individual work) Any alterations to a musical work shall not change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the work.
• Illustrations & Photographs
  When using photographs or illustrations from a collective work, not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, may be used. No more than 5 images by an individual artist or photographer may be used.
• Numerical Data Sets
  May take up to 10% or 2500 fields or cells, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database, data table or spreadsheet to incorporate into a multimedia production.
• Copy Limits
  Once a work is completed, educators may make two use copies of the work produced, only one of which may be placed on reserve. One additional, preservation (backup master) copy may be made which may be used to generate replacement copies in the event a use copy is lost, stolen or damaged.
• Credit Acknowledgement
  The Guidelines require that educators and students credit the sources of copyrighted material incorporated into their productions and that such information is to be included in the production.

Off - Air Videotaping:

It is illegal to copy all or any part of a videotape or to tape programming off-air or off-satellite without the written permission of the holder of the copyright. For off-air and off-satellite taping, CIT will provide the tape. It is the instructor's responsibility to control the circulation for preview to ensure strict compliance with the copyright laws. Copyright law allows recording of off-air programs for instructional purposes during broadcast for use once per class during the 10 days following the broadcast date. The tape may be retained by the instructor for an additional 35 days for purchase consideration. After a total of 45 days the program must be erased or purchased.

Resources:

• Questions & Answers on Copyright for the Campus Community : Association of American Publishers Inc., Association of American University Presses, Copyright Clearance Center Inc., National Association of College Stores, and the Software & Information Industry Association have created an excellent website which helps colleges to understand how copyright law applies to them.
• For a compilation of copyright resources, please visit the Library maintained Copyright page.