Copyright & Digital

Scholarship

Melanie T. KowalskiCopyright & Scholarly Communications Librarian

June 18, 2014

Introductions!

• Who are you?

• In which department/discipline do you

study/work?

• What brings you here today?

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By the end of this session you should…

• Understand the basics of copyright, including the

fair use exemption

• Know the difference between copyright

permissions and archival “use” permissions

• Be able to seek copyright permission for

materials you’d like to use in your digital projects

• Know where to find rights-free and/or open

content to use in your digital projects

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Copyright – The Basics

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Copyright – Why bother?

“The Congress shall have power…To promote the

progress of science and useful arts, by securing

for limited times to authors and inventors the

exclusive right to their respective writings and

discoveries”

-U.S. Constitution, Article 1, Section 8

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What are the rights?

The exclusive rights of the copyright owner are:

To reproduce the work

To prepare derivative works

To distribute copies of the work

To publicly perform the work

To publicly display the work directly or by

telecommunication

To publicly perform a sound recording by digital

means

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What does Copyright Protect?

• Original works of authorship fixed in a tangible

medium of expression

– Literary works & Dramatic works

– Musical works & Sound recordings

– Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works

– Motion pictures and other audiovisual works

– Pantomimes and other choreographic works

– Architectural works

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What isn’t Protected by Copyright?

• Works not protected by copyright include:

– Things too short, brief, or common to be original

– Things too factual to be original

– Things you can patent

– Works lacking a modicum of originality

– Works created by the U.S. Federal government

– Things that are “useful”

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Duration of Copyright

• Copyright law grants exclusive rights to

copyright owners and exemptions for users (ex.

Fair Use)

– Term of copyright is currently life of the author + 70

years

– Copyright notice ( © ) is not required

– When copyright expires, work enters the public

domain

• NOTE: Term of protection for items created

and/or published in the 20th century varies

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Isn’t Citing Enough?

• Scholarly uses of copyrighted works are not

exempt from copyright law

– Citation = Ethical Construct

• Accurate citations help you avoid plagiarism

• Upholds intellectual honesty

• Gives credit for another’s ideas

– Copyright = Legal Construct

• Concerned with control of the expression of idea

• Accurate citations are not a defense to copyright infringement

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Who actually owns the copyright?

• Protection begins @ moment of creation

• Ownership lies originally with the creator

• Ownership is often transferred to publishers, business partners,

heirs, or other entities

• Who owns?

– Archival materials?

– For faculty or student generated content?

– Your work reports?

– That video on YouTube?

Fair Use in Scholarly Publication

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“It’s educational, so it’s a fair use.”

Right??

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Copyright Exemption - Fair Use

Balancing test, comprised of four factors:

Purpose and Character

Nature of the copyright work

Amount of the use

Effect on the market or potential market for the

copyrighted work

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The Permissions Process

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Types of Permission

• Copyright Permission

– Legal requirement to avoid infringement liability

• Archival “Use” or “Publication” Permissions

– Institutional requirement

– Outlines citation/attribution requirements

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Copyright Permission – The Bare Bones

Basics

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You typically need copyright permission for. .

.

• Long quotations

• Reproduced publications

• Unpublished materials

• Poetry and Music Lyrics

• Dialogue from a play, screenplay, broadcast, or novel

• Music

• Video

• Graphic or pictorial works (graphs, charts and images)

• Computer Software

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How to Obtain Permission

• Identify the copyright owner

• Contact the copyright owner and include:

– Exact material to be used

– Intended use of the material

– Form of publication – print, online, or both?

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How to Obtain Permission

• Retain a written response (if contacted by

telephone, follow up in writing by e-mail or letter)

• If you don’t get a response or permission is

denied:

– Consider using an alternative work

– Alter your planned use and re-evaluate for fair use

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Orphan Works

• Orphan Work : a copyrighted work for which the

copyright owner cannot be identified or

contacted

• Treat these works as if you were denied

permission from a rights holder

– Consider using an alternative work

– Alter your planned use and re-evaluate for fair use

• Note: No statutory protections exist for the use

of Orphan Works at this time

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When you don’t need permission…

• Work is in the public domain

– Government document

– Published in US prior to 1923 or in a foreign country

prior to 1909

– Peter Hirtle’s Chart -http://copyright.cornell.edu/resources/publicdomain.cfm

• Creative Commons licenses

– Authors grant permission for certain uses by using a

CC logo (see www.creativecommons.org)

– CC Searching

• http://search.creativecommons.org/

• Google Image – advanced search settings allow CC search 22

Codes of Best Practices

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and

Research Libraries

• Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best

Practices in Fair Use

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media

Literacy Education

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly

Research in Communication

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video

• Orphan Works: Statement of Best Practices

• Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Poetry23

Resources for help

• Copyright and Cultural Institutions: Guidelines for U.S. Libraries, Archives, and Museums by Peter Hirtle

• Permissions, A Survival Guide: Blunt Talk about Art as Intellectual Property by Susan M. Bielstein

• Copyright Law for Librarians and Educators by Kenneth D. Crews

• Is it in the Public Domain? : A Handbook for Evaluating the Copyright Status of a Work Created in the United States Between January 1, 1923 and December 31, 1977 by the Berkeley Law Samuelson Law, Technology & Public Policy Clinic

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