Copyright Laws for Educators

 

 

The Internet offers a vast amount of resources, research, images, media, etc.  What are educators and students allowed to use from the Internet and when are they supposed to request permission from the owner? The following wiki provides educators some examples of copyright policy in the following areas:  

 

• Licensing and Software Piracy
• TEACH Act
• Fair Use
• Plagiarism
• Web/Wiki Publishing
• How to get permission to use copyrighted material

 

 

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Licensing and Software Piracy

 

Software Piracy is when software is installed to more than one computer or what the license allows.  If the License Agreement only allows the user to install the software to one computer the user can only install the software to one computer. Buyers need to purchase a license number for each computer that will have the software installed. 

 

Copyright Infringement is when someone copies or downloads material without permission.  Users are not allowed to copy or reproduce software, music, images, movies, literature or textual inform without permission.    

 

Remember the following to avoid Software Piracy:

 

 

• Install software to only the number of machines that is specified on the licensing agreement
• School software should not be installed on home computers.  Some educational software allows teachers to install software at home, but, if the teacher no longer works at the school she/he must uninstall the software. 

• Copies or duplication of the software are not allowed

 

 

I would like to try software that belongs to my friend, can I install the software in my computer to make sure I will like the software and purchase it?

No, you cannot install the software to your computer.  You can contact the company and install a trial version.

 

Can I give my students a copy of software so that they can have the software in their home computers and complete homework assignments? 

No, when someone copies or reproduces software without permission, that person is violating Chapter 5 from the Copyright Law of the United States. 

 

 

For more information please visit, Copyright Infringement.

TEACH Act 

 

The Technology Education and Copyright Harmonization Act is a Copyright Law under Section 110 (2) that applies only to accredited nonprofit educational institutions.  This copyright law allows distance educators as well as face-to-face teachers to use copyright materials for instructional purposes without permission from the copyright owner.

 

When educators use copyright materials they must notify the students that the material is copyrighted and must include an active link of copyright notices.  Educators are allowed to make copies for educational purposes but, cannot distribute the copies.  Copies should stay in the Institution.   Educators can only convert a limited amount of work from analog to digital work to protect the copyright owner.  Under this law educators must be present when transmitting the audiovisual work or images.  Educators are allowed to display images of books only when used in the live classroom setting.  Educators are allowed to use the following only in the classroom under the TEACH Act:     

 

• Movie (only in reasonable and limited portions) 
• Music clips (only in reasonable and limited portions)
• Images of artwork for history or art class

 

Can an educator give the students the material to use outside of the classroom and still be protected by The TEACH Act?

No, the conditions that The TEACH Act, are that the educator must be present when showing the material and the material should only be used in the classroom. 

 

Can an educator use a scanned image from a book?

The educator may use an image from a book only if there is an educational purpose.  The educator cannot reproduce the image nor make money from the image.   

 

 

For more information please visit, The TEACH Act

 

Fair Use

 

Fair Use is a law under the United States Copyright Law that gives educators the right with limitations to use copyrighted material.  As long as educators use the copyrighted material to benefit society the educator has the right to use the material without obtaining permission from the copyright owner. 

 

The following are guidelines from KOCE Classroom that educators must follow:

 

Printed Material (copies can be made from legally acquired originals)

 

• Poems should be less than 250 words

 

• Articles, stories, or essays should be less than 2,500 words

 

Illustrations and Photographs

 

• When copied from a collection, user can only copy 10 percent

 

• Single copies can be used in their entirety

 

• When images are from one artist limit to 5 copies

 

Videos (must be legitimate) 

 

• Teachers  may show videos to students for educational purposes

 

• Copies may be made for archival purposes

 

Music (must be legitimate) 

 

• Music that will be integrated into multimedia must be a maximum of 30 seconds

 

For more guidelines please visit KOCE Classroom

 

Fair Use does not include:

 

• Entertainment (Cannot show movies for entertainment purposes)

 

• Consumables cannot be copied

 

• Only use legitimate work (Always be sure to give the proper credit to the owner) 

 

Four Factors of Fair Use:

 

• Purpose and character (As educators the purpose should be educational)

 

• Nature of the work

 

• Amount of substance of the work (Only use a small amount of work)

 

• Effect of the use on the market (The use of material should not hurt the market nor the owner)

 

 

For more information please visit Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials

 

Can an educator show a movie during lunch for students that earned a good grade?

No, under Fair Use the educator cannot show a movie for entertainment it must be for an educational purpose

 

If a student lost his/her workbook can the teacher make a copy of the workbook?

No, if it is a consumable workbook that the school purchased the teacher cannot make copies.  The school needs to buy another workbook.   

Plagiarism

 

According to, "Plagiarismdotorg," plagiarism is when someone copies someone else's ideas without giving the proper credit. 

 

Educators need to teach students about plagiarism and how to give the proper credit when using or paraphrasing work that belongs to someone else.  In order to avoid plagiarism, students must know the following information provided by Widener University:

 

 

• Always use quotation marks when copying someone's exact words
• Always use references
• Always use your own words when paraphrasing
• Never download or buy literary work

 

 

The following links provides several plagiarism sources that educators can use to teach students about plagiarism:  

 

READWRITETHINK helps teachers teach students about plagiarism

 

LiteracyMatters teaches students how to conduct online research

 

Plagiarism.org helps educators understand plagiarism

 

Vaughan Memorial Library is a fun interactive slide presentation that teaches students about plagiarism

 

Nauset Public Schools Research and Style Manual Grades 1-6 teaches students how to generate citations

 

Nauset Public Schools Research and Style Manual Grades 7-12 teaches students how to generate citations

 

 

 

For more information please visit findingDulcinea

 

Wiki/Web Publishing

 

Copyright Law, US Code: Title 17, Chapter 13 ~ 1301, protects the original work that is published or unpublished including Wiki/Web material.  Fonts, news stories, music, graphics, pictures and e-mails are all protected by The Copyright Law.  When publishing a wiki/web for a school it is important to:

 

• Create original work
• Ask for permission when including someone else's work on a wiki/web
• Give the proper credit to the owner
• Do not publish student's names on the wiki/web
• Request parent's permission to publish student's work
• Use text links for corresponding sites instead of trademark symbols
• Give proper credit when using Clip Art  (even though the Clip Art was purchased by the school)
• When using someone else's Text, Photo, or WebArt request for permission and add the proper credit
• When using links, let the viewer know that the link will go off-site
• To avoid copyright infringement, do not use framing nor IMG links

 

 

Can a WebMaster use the name of the website and place a link on the name?

Yes, you are permitted to use the name but, not the company's logo.

 

Can a WebMaster use ClipArt from a free website?

Always request for permission when getting using someone else's work, even though the website is claiming that their clipart is free they might have restrictions.  If they request permission, always give the proper credit.  

 

 

 

For more information please visit, Legal Copyright Issues Web Site Management Law Suits Schools Educations

 

 

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How to Request Permission

 

Copyright Clearance Center (Part of a book or journal article)

 

Harry Fox Agency (Musical Composition)

 

Anchorage Press (Plays for young people)

 

Movie Licensing USA (movies)

 

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Video about Fair Use

 

 

Credits