The following is a basic summary of copyright law. It is an attempt to answer some of the copyright issues faced by educators.It is not intended to be a definitive guide. Consult the sources listed in the bibliography for further details not included here.
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Fair Use Guidelines
Fair use of a copyrighted work for purposes of teaching, scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright. The following factors shall be considered in determining fair use:
- The purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or for nonprofit educational purposes;
- The nature of the copyrighted work;
- The amount and importance of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
- The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
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Guidelines for Making Single Copies of Print Materials
- May make a single copy of a chapter in book, article from magazine, encyclopedia, or newspaper; short story, poem, essay, chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture
- Single copy may be in form of a transparency
- May be kept indefinitely
- May not make a single copy to create a collection or anthology
- May not make a single copy for someone else, or require someone under your authority to make a single copy for their use
- May not copy consumable materials (workbooks, coloring books, etc.)
- Click here to refer to CISD Board Policy - Section EFE (Exhibit)
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Guidelines for Making Multiple Copies
- May make a single copy of a chapter in book, article from magazine, encyclopedia, or newspaper; short story, poem, essay, chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture
- Single copy may be in form of a transparency
- May be kept indefinitely
- May not make a single copy to create a collection or anthology
- May not make a single copy for someone else, or require someone under your authority to make a single copy for their use
- May not copy consumable materials (workbooks, coloring books, etc.)
- Click here to refer to CISD Board Policy - Section EFE (Exhibit)
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Guidelines for Use of Graphics Media
- May not modify (reduce or enlarge), or change the medium (such as a slide, coloring sheet, poster, puppet, etc.)
- May not copy consumable materials such as workbooks, coloring books, test sheets, etc.
- May not copy cartoon, TV, film, or book characters for bulletin boards, decorations, or handouts
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Guidelines for Viewing Videos
- Must be presented by instructor, in face-to-face teaching situation
- Topic of the video must be the current unit of study, not for previously studied topics
- Must be part of regular classroom instruction, not for enrichment, "general cultural value," entertainment, reward, etc.
- Must be a legally obtained video (purchased, rented, or properly taped from TV)
- Only registered members of class may view (no parents, students from other classes, etc.)
- No back up copies of videos may be made
- IMPORTANT: Public performance rights are required for films / videos that are not related to the curriculum currently being studied.
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Guidelines for Educational Uses of Music
- May make an emergency copy for an upcoming performance, provided that a replacement copy is purchased thereafter
- May make multiple copies of no more than 10% of entire work for academic purposes (not for performances) -- may not do so if 10% constitutes a "performable unit," such as a movement
- May make a single copy of entire performable unit for teaching or scholarly research if work is out of print, or unavailable except as part of a larger work
- May simplify or edit legally purchased music, but changing lyrics or "fundamental character" of work is not permissible
- May retain a single recorded copy of student performances for rehearsals or evaluation
- May make a copy of a sound recording owned by school or individual for listening exercises or testing
- May not make single copies to produce a collection or anthology
- May not make a transparency of printed music
- Click here to refer to CISD Board Policy - Section EFE (Exhibit)
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Guidelines for Taping from TV
- Show once within 10 school days of the broadcast -- may be repeated once for reinforcement
- After 10 school days, recording may only be used for evaluation purposes
- Erase after 45 calendar days
- Program need not be shown in its entirety, but cannot be edited
- Taping from exclusive cable channels or satellite not permitted unless specific permission is granted (see Cable in the Classroom magazine for educational permissions)
- Taping must be initiated by teacher who will use video
- Teacher can record program only once for use in the classroom -- Written permission from the copyright holder must be obtained, OR the program purchased, in order to use off-air tapes when teaching that material again.
- Click here to refer to CISD Board Policy - Section EFE (Legal)
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Guidelines for Internet
For printing of single and multiple copies, follow print guidelines
- For downloading, saving, viewing offline, or displaying before an entire class, consider the Fair Use guidelines
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Guidelines for Computer Software
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Guidelines for Creating Multimedia Projects / Presentations
- Motion media (film, video, television): 10% or 3 minutes (whichever is LESS), of individual program/film
- Text (prose, poetry, drama): Up to 10% or 1000 words (whichever is LESS), of novel, story, play, or long poem -- short poems less than 250 words may be used in their entirety -- may use only 3 poems by one poet or 5 poems from different poets from an anthology
- Music, lyrics, and music video: Up to 10%, but not more than 30 seconds from a single work or combined from separate extracts of a work
- Illustrations/ cartoons / photos: No more than 5 by one artist -- not more than 10% or 15 images from a collective work
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Retention by Educators
- Educators may keep their multimedia projects for professional portfolios, job interviews, and evaluations -- may display their projects at workshops and conferences, and face-to-face instruction
- Educators may keep their projects for 2 years -- beyond this time, permission to retain or use the material is required for each portion of copyrighted materials used in the presentation
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Retention by Students
- Students may keep their multimedia projects in portfolios, for job interviews, college applications, etc.
- Students may keep their projects indefinitely UNLESS they want to use them within a commercial / job / non-educational setting -- then copyright permission must be obtained for each portion of the copyrighted materials used
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Additional Information
- "Copying Under Copyright: A Practical Guide." Music Publishers’ Association; Accessed March 2002 .
- "Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web." University of Maryland University College; Accessed February 2002 .
- "Copyright Basics." American Bar Association; Accessed February 2002 .
- "Copyright Crash Course." University of Texas; Accessed February 2002 .
- Simpson, Carol. Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide. 3rd ed. Worthington, OH: Linworth Publishing, 2001.
- Templeton, Brad. "10 Big Myths About Copyright Explained." Accessed February 2002 .
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