last modified:2008-12-11 13:36:46
Copyright Policy
The DiBona Center for Educational Technology adheres to the Copyright Policy set forth by the University of Utah in the Policy and Procedures Manual.
General Guidelines:
Since the 1976 Copyright Act did not define 'fair use', the House of Representatives established certain guidelines for making copies by educators. Keep in mind that these are guidelines only, that educators are not exempt from legal obligations surrounding use of copyrighted materials, and that EDUCATIONAL USE ALONE DOES NOT CONSTITUTE FAIR USE. The Copyright Act did not set any quantitative limits on what could be copied. The guidelines are there to establish reasonable boundaries within which educators may use materials without permission from the copyright holder.
The key with all practices of fair use is to use the smallest portion sufficient and necessary of a work to achieve the instructional objective of your curriculum.
Key points of Copyright Law and Fair Use:
Copyright protection begins the moment an original work is first fixed in a tangible medium of expression. It does not need to be published or registered in order to be protected. The absence of a copyright notice for such works does NOT mean that a work is not copyrighted.
The copyright holder possesses exclusive rights with respect to his/her work. Those rights are:
1. The right to reproduce it.
2. The right to prepare derivative works based on it.
3. The right to distribute it (or copies of it).
4. The fight to perform it publicly.
5. The right to display it publicly.
Being the owner or possessor of an original work or copy of that work does not make you the copyright owner.
Copying must meet minimum Fair Use standards. Fair Use is a legal principle that defines the limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright holders. The statute sets forth four fair use factors which, when weighed together, allow a reasoned decision as to whether a particular use ia a 'fair use'. If a use is a 'fair use', permission from or payment to the author or publisher is not required.
The four fair use factors are:
1. The purpose and character of the use.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used.
4. The effect of the use on the potential market for the copyrighted work.
Prohibitions:
Copying may not be used as a substitute for the purchase of a legal copy.
Copying may not be directed by a higher authority.
Reproduction of any media, or conversion from one media format or standard to another, is prohibited unless such rights have been acquired from the copyright holder. This would include narrating entire stories on to audio tape; changing a copyrighted work from one format into another (i.e., record or CD to audio tape, 16 mm film to video tape, etc.); converting a copyright work from one standard to another (i.e., European to American).
Duplication of audio or video tapes for archival, backup, or for multiple uses is not legal unless reproduction rights were granted at the time of purchase.
Permissible copying does not extend to reproduction of copyrighted works solely in anticipation of loss or damage.