Copyright in the Electronic Environment For Students Georgia Harper Office of General Counsel University of Texas System

Overview

• When Does Copyright Become an Issue?

• Applying Analog Laws to the Digital World

• Specific Copyright Issues

  • Works you create and own
    
    
    • Publishing your dissertation
      
      
  • Using others' works
    
    
    • Incorporating others' works into your works
    • Coursepacks and electronic reserves
    • Research copies
      
      

Copyright Management

Copyright affects you.

• Electronic Access Increases Opportunities

  • Easier access
  • Wider dissemination
  • Increasing quantity and quality of content
    
    

• Electronic Distribution Increases Your Exposure

  It ups the "getting caught" factor

What Makes Copyright an Issue?

The Crash Course in Copyright

If you want to copy, distribute, create derivatives of or display
or perform others' works, you need to know a little bit about Copyright.

First, The Basic Scheme

• The Law Gives Certain Rights to Copyright Owners

• Fair Use is the "Play in the Joints"

• Sometimes You Have to Ask for Permission

• Sometimes You Are the Owner!

A Few Particulars

• What Does Copyright Protect?

  Original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression.
  
  

• When Does it Begin and End?

  Today, it begins at the moment of fixation in a tangible medium of expression and ends at the expiration of 70 years after the death of the author. Different rules apply to older works, however, and there are special rules for works-for-hire.
  
  

  • Recent changes in Copyright Term Extension Act allow libraries to use certain works in their last 20 years of protection
    
    

• What Does it Mean to Owners?

  Owners have exclusive rights to make copies, create derivative works, distribute, display and perform works publicly.
  
  

• What Does it Mean to Users?

  If the law protects a work you wish to use, you must ask for permission from the copyright owner unless your planned use is covered by one of the law's exemptions, such as fair use.
  
  

• What is Fair Use?

  Wouldn't a crisp, clear answer to that one be nice?

Ownership

• The Author Usually is the Owner

• The Employer is the Owner When:

  • A work is created by an employee within the scope of employment
  • A work is created pursuant to a contract as a work-for-hire
  • A work is created pursuant to a contract with an assignment
    
    

• When Seeking Permission, Try the Publisher or a Rights Collective First

  • Copyright owners typically assign copyright to their publishers
  • Artists, free-lance writers and photographers usually do not assign copyright
    
    

Fair Use

Students have rights of fair use under Copyright Law.

• Section 107 of the Copyright Law includes illustrations of potential fair uses and describes four factors that must be taken into account in analyzing whether a use is fair.

Examples: Criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship and research

The Four Factors:

• Character of the Use

• Nature of the Material to be Copied

• Amount and Importance of the Part Copied

• Effect on Market for Permissions

Getting Permission

• Collective Rights Organizations

• Contacting the Owner Directly

• What if the Owner Has Changed?

• Be Sure the Person Granting Permission Has Authority

• Should Permission be in Writing?

• What if you Have Difficulty Identifying the Owner?

• What if the Owner is Unidentifiable or Unresponsive?

Applying Analog Laws
to Digital Works

• Fair Use Is Not Just For Copies: It Applies to:

  • Making copies of copyrighted works
  • Making derivative works (for example, digitizing charts, graphs, illustrations, slides)
  • Distributing works, including electronic distribution
  • Displaying and performing works publicly
    
    

• Normally, Cases Help Us Understand Fair Use in Various Contexts

  But, No Cases Directly Address Fair Use of Others' Works
  in a Nonprofit Educational Context

  • Commercial fair use cases - trend is towards narrowing the scope of fair use (Texaco; Michigan Document Services)
  • On the other hand, Sega/Nintendo cases indicate that it is fair use to make a copy in order to get at unprotected elements or to make a permitted use
  • Bridgeman v. Corel - exact duplication of public domain work lacks sufficient originality to qualify for copyright protection under Britain's copyright law
    
    

• The Good Faith Fair Use Defense

  • U.T. System's having a policy really helps you to take advantage of the good faith fair use defense!
    
    

• If Fair Use Does Not Apply, Seek Permission

Specific Copyright Issues for Students

• Works You Create and Own

  • You are all authors; when you put materials online, you are publishers and distributors too.
  • System Intellectual Property Policy
  • You are responsible for registering your copyrights
  • Publishing and distributing dissertations and theses

    This is one of the best resources on copyright if you are writing your dissertation or thesis:
    
    

    • Copyright Law and Graduate Research: New Media,
      New Rights and Your New Dissertation
      by Kenneth D. Crews
      
      

  • Consider making it easier for readers to contact you for permission to use your works
    
    

• Incorporating Others' Works Into Your Works

  • Dissertations, theses
    
    
    • Copyright on the Internet
    • Publisher liability
    • Fair use
      
      
      • Comment and criticism: Incorporating facts, charts, diagrams, illustrations and direct quotations
      • Links to others' works: General consensus is that while links are not an infringement, "inlining" others' works is
      • Citation: Always necessary, but does not substitute for permission where fair use would not cover the use

      • Copyright Law and Graduate Research: New Media,
        New Rights and Your New Dissertation
        by Kenneth D. Crews
        
        

  • Multimedia works for classroom use
    
    
    • Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines
    • UT System Rules of Thumb
      
      
  • Asking for permission/getting a release
    
    

• Coursepacks and Reserves

  • U. T. System Rules of Thumb for Coursepacks
  • Will coursepacks give way to personal downloading and printing out at users' discretion?
    
    
    • Watch out for hidden costs of personal copying (price may be higher than same material printed by University copy centers)
      
      

• Research Copies

  • U. T. System Rules of Thumb

Summary

• Students are Both Users and Creators of Copyright Works

• Electronic Environment Makes Publishing, Accessing and Using Works Easier

• Ease of Distribution and Use Means You Need to Pay Closer Attention to Copyright Law

• The Copyright Crash Course Offers Online Support

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