Week 4 Reading Summaries

Copyright 101

            Intellectual property, which includes copyright, is an important concept for educators to understand.  The concept of intellectual property comes into play when teachers copy and distribute products created by others in their classrooms. 

            Copyright is a form of protection provided by US law to the creators of original works of authorship.  Copyright laws are based on the belief that anyone who creates an original, tangible work deserves to be compensated for that work, and that the creator should be able to control how the work is used.  These laws protect literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works, and they go into effect as soon as an original work is fixed into a tangible form of expression.  US copyright law generally allows the owner of the copyright five exclusive rights to do or authorize others to do the following with the work:

1.     Reproduce it in copies.

2.     Prepare derivative works based upon it.

3.     Distribute copies.

4.     Perform it publicly.

5.     Display it publicly.

Copyright law allows for the fair use of copyrighted materials for educational and research-based uses.  A copyrighted work can be used or copied for educational purposes as long as the use is not solely a substitute for purchasing the work.  The fair use statute provides that making “multiple copies for classroom use” is an example of fair use.

Fair use is often cited as a defense to a copyright infringement action.  To determine if a use qualifies as “fair,” the courts will consider the following factors:

1.     The purpose of the use.

2.     The nature of the work.

3.     The amount of the work used in relation to the whole work.

4.     The effect of the use on the market or potential income for the work.

Fair use is determined on a case-by case basis, by applying these guidelines to each particular instance.  Copying individual articles for lesson planning, or making multiple copies of an article to distribute to a class are both examples of fair uses.  However, copying an entire textbook for class distribution is not a fair use. 

Works in the public domain are freely available to all, and can be freely copied.  Public domain materials fall into two categories:

1.     Works for which the copyright has expired.

2.     Works created by the US federal government.

Both of these groups do have exceptions.  Be careful not to assume that a work is in the public domain just because it appears to fall into one of these categories.

A basic understanding of intellectual property laws and concepts is important for educators’ informed use, as well as for the development of ethical students.

What is Creative Commons?

Creative commons is a nonprofit organization that works to increase the body of creative work available for free and legal sharing and use.  By providing free, easy to use legal tools, creative commons helps individual creators, companies, and institutions to pre-clear usage rights to the creative work to which they own the copyright.  CC copyright licenses let people easily change their copyright terms from “all rights reserved” to “some rights reserved.”  Creative commons licenses allow copyright owners to clearly communicate to people what they will and will not allow them to do with their work.

People looking for content that is free and legal to use can access a giant pool of CC-licensed works – from songs and videos to scientific and academic work – that can be used under the terms of CC copyright licenses. 

In addition to major media and technology companies, leading universities, top scientists, and world-renowned artists, millions of “regular” people around the world use CC licensed to increase the depth, breadth, and quality of creative work available for free and legal use.