Copyright and Fair Use for Educators and Students

In January 2006 a Copyright Committee was established by the State College Area School District to review the policies and practices of district faculty, staff and students as related to United States copyright law.  In-service training for faculty and staff was begun in Summer 2007.  Since those trainings the approach to copyright law has been altered by a court case and a national in-depth study of the case, the law and their application in the educational environment.  This website now reflects those changes.

The following information is also available in a slide presentation.

What has not changed:

• SCASD has policies on Copyright, Academic Integrity, Intellectual Property.
  
• Always credit sources
• Crediting sources does not mean you don't have to consider copyright.
• Fair Use as outlined in copyright law still applies.
• Guidelines and agreements on quantities or amounts permissible to use never were the law but were used in determining fair use.
• Guidelines and agreements do not encompass all aspects of the fair use doctrine and as such do not need to be applied as if they were law.
• Public Domain aspects of the law still apply.
• Copying to avoid purchasing is still illegal.
  
• Copyright Free Resources are still available and do not require a Fair Use determination. 
  
• SCASD continues a subscription to Movie Licensing USA.  Download this Brochure. To search for movie titles covered by the license, visit the Movie Licensing USA web site.
• When in doubt or fair use does not apply there is still the option to ask permission.
  

• What caused the changes?
• Law still stands but has been tested in court, and educational and legal experts have revisited the process for determining Fair Use
• Dorling Kindersley (DK) (2006) - first court case to test fair use in multimedia world
• Renee Hobbs and others, funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, pulled together copyright lawyers and professors to explore fair use in light of the court case and and the expanding use of media in education.  They developed the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education. (2008)
• What are the changes?
• Embracing a more relaxed view of Fair Use, but with thoughtful evaluation and critical thinking and reasoning.  
• Teachers have greater latitude when copyrighted material is part of curriculum and used in the classroom.
• One of the key tests for fair use is the test of transformation. 
• Creations containing copyrighted materials now have a wider scope of distribution (see Code of Best Practices)
• What are educator’s responsibilities?
• Model and teach responsible use of copyrighted materials
• Use critical thinking and reasoning to determine acceptable use of copyrighted materials
• Use age appropriate citation practices
• Make clear the difference between responsible use and plagiarized use of copyrighted materials
• Model your use of copyrighted materials in your handouts and presentations, and share your reasoning process with your students

• Do your own thinking based on the guidelines on this web site.
• Complete the Fair Use Reasoning form.
  
• If you are still unsure, consult your building librarian or ITS, but they will want to review your responses to the Fair Use Reasoning form before they offer any advice.
• We encourage you to take the new SCoodle Copyright course.
  

• Code of Best Practices
• Copyright Free Resources
  
• Crediting Sources
• Dorling Kindersley Copyright Case
• Fair Use Reasoning
• Obtaining Permission
• Print Materials
  
• Section 107 Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use
• Transformation

The Code of Best Practices in FairUse for Media Literacy Education. Center for Social Media. School of Communication

American University. 2010. Web. 04 Aug. 2010.

"Document the Fair-UseReasoning Process." Media Education Lab. School of Communications andTheater Temple U, 2009.

Web. 5 Aug. 2010.  .

Hobbs, Renee.  CopyrightClarity.  Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin & NCTE, 2010.

Russell, Carrie. CompleteCopyright. Washington, DC: American Library Association, 2004. Print.

"Transformation." OxfordDictionaries. Apple Widget file.

U.S. Copyright Office. N.p., n.d.Web. 5 Aug. 2010.