Teachers: don’t take

copyright laws lightly

By Dina Gustin,

for Educational Applications of Technology 5306

Intellectual Property

!   Intellectual property is a legal concept to protect intangible things like ideas.

!   You can get into just as much trouble stealing someone else’s idea as stealing someone’s purse.

Be spontaneous, but be smart ; )

!   The Government describes “Spontaneity” as:

“The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and the inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.” Cited source: www.copyright.gov

Does it fall within the scope of “fair use”? !   “Fair use” under the United States Law has

criteria for which works can be used for reproduction.

!   Nonprofit teaching or research purposes will be considered “fair use” within certain conditions.

Sing your own tune!

!   Actually, we can’t always sing your own tune. Teachers, did you realize there are guidelines for even copying your favorite tune?

!   -permissible uses for music (no more than 30 seconds) !   -prohibitions !   -no altering or distortion of lyrics !   -single copies

Copy-cat!

!  There are specific guidelines for single copy and multi-copy use for music, film, TV, web and words that you need to know and model as an educator. Cite all your sources.

Are you talking to me?

!   Teachers are not exempt from copyright laws and must be careful about the materials used in your classroom.

!   Where can I find these guidelines and conditions?

Go ahead and copy this…

www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf

Google this: Circ21 or jot down the Link above to find a PDF of the guidelines called Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians. This PDF should tell you specifically what you need to know about the guidelines and conditions.

Get your hands on these:

Additional Websites: US Copyright Office Stanford University: Copyright and Fair Use NC Public Schools Copyright Clearance Center 10 Big Myths About Copyright University of Texas Copyright Site

Circ21 = 24 page PDF