© Copyright Issues for Students ©

Myth: If it’s on the Internet, it must be FREE

Contrary to Popular Belief - it is NOT legal to copy anything you find on the Internet. This includes copying images, text, audio files, movies or video clips from a Web site and placing it on your own Web site or on a CD.

The purpose of this page is to inform you of your rights and responsibilities as users of copyrighted material. It is meant to help you make good choices when using copyrighted material in multimedia projects, research papers, presentations, etc.

Enforcing Copyright Laws in this Digital Age is an uphill battle for content owners. This is especially true considering the results of a PEW Internet Survey on Music Downloading, which found that 65% of Internet users who share files online do not care whether the files they share are copyrighted or not.

Definition
Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U. S. Code) to the authors of “original works,” including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. The law attempts to balance the private interests of copyright owners with the public interest and is intended, in the words of the Constitution:

"...to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for a limited Time to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."

Why is Copyright Important?
First it is the Law. Copyright protects the rights of the person who composed the music, wrote the book, wrote the computer code, recorded the video, created the multimedia show, authored the Web site, designed the movie poster, etc. Copyright also will protect your rights as a creator of any of the above listed items. Copyright law gives copyright owners the exclusive right to: reproduce a work, prepare derivative works based on the original, distribute copies, perform the work , d isplay the work and to perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

Who can give permission?
Only the owner of the work can give permission. Some sites may claim to be copyright free, however the information they provide may have been taken from other sites. If the Web page creator never owned the rights to the image, he can not give the image away. (As an example: If someone is using an image of a Disney character on their web site, chances are it is being used illegally. Disney characters are not copyright-free images.)

What is Public Domain?
Public Domain is when copyright has expired and the work is available for public use.

Doesn't Copyright hamper creation of cool Web sites?
Just as good research papers can be written without plagiarizing, lively internet sites can be created without violating copyright rules. There are numerous collections and galleries of images, sound and video clips available for public use or purchase.

NOTE: Several of the Library Databases provide Copyright Free access to images, video clips, podcasts, graphics and photographs. Students are free to use this information for school and personal use.

Photographs are available in: Grolier’s Encyclopedia; Academic Search Premier; MasterFILE Premier;History Reference Center;Biography Resource Center; Discovering Collection; Literature Resource Center.
Videos are available in: Health and Wellness Resource Center; History Reference Center.
Podcasts are available in: Opposing Viewpoints.
Charts, Graphs, Cartoons & Illustrations are available in: Science Resource Center, SIRS Researcher; Issues and Controversies.

So what can I copy or use in my Classroom Projects?
Since most of the projects you will work on as students are for Educational Purposes, many of the copyright issues will be covered by Fair Use. In other words, so long as your work is related to your classroom assignments or projects, your use of information from Web sites, text, images, graphics, etc. would be covered by Educational Fair Use. However, as soon as your work moves out of the classroom, greater restrictions on use would apply. You must distinguish between "practice" publishing and "real" publishing.

General Guidelines
© Always give proper credit to any borrowed materials. Make sure you attribute the work you take from the Internet for your reports, presentations or essays. You may use portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works in your multimedia projects, with proper credit and citations. And you may retain this work in personal portfolios as examples of your academic work.

© Students and teachers must include on the opening screen of their programs and on any printed materials that their presentation has been prepared under fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law and are restricted from further use.

© Don’t use something that is blatantly commercial. For example, don’t download or post copies of a painting or a piece of software that is for sale.

© If you post a copyrighted work on your school or personal web page and take it outside the classroom, be sure to contact the original owner for permission.

© Check the web site to see if the author or creator issues a copyright or permission
statement or if the site has a Copyright Symbol ©.

© When in doubt, the best rule of thumb is to always ask for permission.

© You can not copy to avoid purchase!

Publishing Web Pages
As a general rule of thumb, neither teachers nor students may use another person’s materials, such as graphics, photographs, images, illustrations, video, text, etc. to publish on their own Web page, unless they have requested and received formal permission from the copyright owner.

© Internet resources often combine both copyrighted and public domain sites; therefore care should be taken when using or combining information from other websites.
© Until further clarification, educators and students are advised to write for permission to use Internet resources and to be mindful of the copyright ramifications of including embedded additional links to that particular site.

Acceptable Use Guidelines for…

Downloading Computer Software
© Making a copy of the original program to use with the computer.
© Making one backup copy for archival (preservation) purposes, but this can not be used as another working copy of the program.
© Each copy of software needs to be licensed. There are a variety of licenses with specific agreements. Read the license and/or know how many legal copies of the software you own.
© You are not allowed to make one copy for school and one for home.

Downloading Movies
Downloading and copying movies off the internet or “film piracy” is against the law. However, using a clip of a purchased DVD or even a clip of an online movie as part of a class project is permissible. Remember when dealing with any pre-produced video or DVD material, almost everything is copyrighted. Rights pertaining to use of the material belong to the copyright holder.

When using a personal DVD, an Online Movie or Off-Air Copy as part of a Class Project
© Up to 10% or three minutes, whichever is less.
© Clip cannot be altered in any way.
© Copying an entire copyrighted video/movie is a violation (even if it is for personal use).

Web Art, Photos, Text, etc.
© A photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety.
© No more than 5 images of an artist's or photographer's work.
© When using a collection, no more than 10% or no more than 15 images, whichever is less.

Multimedia Presentations
© May use portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works in your multimedia projects.
© Must credit sources, giving full bibliographic information when available.
© Must display the copyright notice and copyright ownership information if the symbol is shown in the original source.

Publication of Personal Artwork, Writing, etc.
© Copyright protection applies from the time the work you created is in fixed form.
© Copyright registration is not required for a copyright to come into existence. So you can copyright a ny of your personal creations, whether written or composed, original artwork, photographs, websites, etc.

Reference Sources

District 196 Copyright Policy http://www.district196.org/District/schoolboard/policies/400/407.6AR.pdf

District 196 Request to Duplicate Copyrighted Material http://www.district196.org/pdf_files/onlinepolicies/400/407.6p.pdf

District 196 Copyright Handbook http://staff.district196.org/i196/departments/curriculum/copyrighthdbk.pdf

Copyright for Students http://www.aea11.k12.ia.us/downloads/copyrightbooklet.pdf

North Carolina Public Schools http://www.ncpublicschools.org/copyright1.html

Creativity in the Classroom http://www.menc.org/information/copyright/creativity/contents.html

Other Copyright Resources for Students and Teachers

Copyright - Association of Research Libraries
U.S. Copyright Office - international copyright and legislation.
Copyright Clearance Center Online - obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted content.
Copyright Q & A - guidelines for classroom copying.
Copyright Information & Education - U of M library site
Copyright Legislation - the latest in copyright legislation.