Copyright

What is copyright?
United States copyright law provides protection for the owners of creative works, granting exclusive rights on how those works may be used by others.

What kinds of works are protected by copyright?
A work is protected when it has been presented in some "tangible medium of expression" (Section 102, Copyright Act).
Here are some examples of works protected by copyright:

• literary works;
• musical works, including any accompanying words;
• dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
• pantomimes and choreographic works;
• pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
• motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
• sound recordings;
• architectural works

Are digital works considered "tangible" and protected under copyright laws?
Yes, U.S. copyright law was updated in 1998 to include digital content through the passage of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act. 

What are the rights of the copyright owner?
Copyright provides the owner of copyright with the exclusive right to:

• Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords.
• Prepare derivative works based upon the work.
• Distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending.
• Perform the work publicly if it is a literary, musical, dramatic, or choreographic work; a pantomime; or a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
• Display the work publicly if it is a literary, musical, dramatic, or choreographic work; a pantomime; or a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work. This right also applies to the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
• Perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission if the work is a sound recording Copyright also provides the owner of copyright the right to authorize others to exercise these exclusive rights, subject to certain statutory limitations.

How can I use a copyrighted work in one of the ways described above?
The general rule is to seek permission to use it from the copyright owner. See How to Obtain Permission (Circular 16A).

Are copyrighted works protected in countries outside of the U.S.? Taiwan, for example?
Although there is no such thing as "International Copyright," Taiwan and many other countries participate with the United States in mutilateral agreements that include copyright agreements. 
For more information on international copyright agreements, see International Copyright Relations of the United States (Circular 38A). 

Does copyright last forever?
Copyright rules have changed over time, but the genral rule today is that copyright lasts for the life of the author plus seventy years. 

If "everything" is copyrighted, can anything ever be used without seeking permissions?
There are exceptions when works can be used for "fair use" without seeking permissions. In general, the doctrine of "Fair Use" applies when the purpose is educational. Determining fair use involves weighing four factors:   

• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
• The nature of the copyrighted work
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
• The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

No one factor is more important than any other.  It is in weighing the balance of the four factors that one will determine if the use is fair. See Section 107 of the copyright law:

What kinds of works are not protected by copyright?

• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, or discoveries
• Works that are not fixed in a tangible form (such as a choreographic work that has not been notated or recorded or an improvisational speech that has not been written down)
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans
• Familiar symbols or designs
• Mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring
• Mere listings of ingredients or contents 

*Adapted from Copyright Basics (Circular 1) by the U.S. Copyright Office. Click here to see the full document.

Learn more....

Information straight from the U.S. Copyright Office.

• Copyright Basics (Circular 1) This 12-page, PDF document cover the basics of Copyright including who and what is protected for copyright, applying for copyright, and more. Reviewed:05/2012
• Copyright Law of the United States This is a link to the complete copyright law at the U.S. Copyright Office web site.

To get the most from this quide, review the "Understanding Copyright" section of this guide.
Quiz yourself: Copyright 101 Tutorial  (from BYU).

If I am just a student, do I need to worry about following copyright laws?
It is important to develop good copyright habits as part of your intellectual and educational growth. One day the work you create may be copyrighted, and you will understand the frustration and damage done when other people use your work as their own or for their own purposes without benefit or credit to you.

I use copyrighted books, journal articles, etc. all the time in my research papers. I never ask for permissions. Am I violating copyright laws?
Ideas cannot be copyrighted. However,  there is a long-standing tradition in academic writing to "attribute" or give credit to the creator or author of ideas and creative works through the use of a citation. Failing to cite another person's ideas or words is therefore not a violation of copyright but it is plagiarism, using another's work as your own. To avoid an impression of plagiarism, always credit or cite your sources in your academic papers and other work.

If I give credit to the owner of a copyrighted work, may I use the work any way I want? 
No, attributing another's ideas, works, and creation by citing them in your own work is generally sufficient for typical research and writing assignments or course-related purposes. However, if you intend to distribute, post the work publicly online, or engage in a public performance, the work should be evaluated fully for Copyright compliance. 

So when can I use copyrighted materials without permission?
The doctrine of "fair use" allows limited use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for purposes such as criticism, parody, news reporting, research and scholarship, and teaching. There are four factors to consider when determining whether your use is a fair one: purpose, nature, amount, and effect. Here is a "Fair Use Checklist""Fair Use Checklist""Fair Use Checklist" to help you decide if your use of copyrighted material is fair use.  You may also use copyrighted works if your creative work changes the  

 Is it legal to reuse someone else's video and audio for remixing?
Fair use is your friend when it comes to using media for remixing, but it doesn't mean anything goes. Watch this video called Remixing Culture: Fair Use is Your Friend to learn more.

Is there any other way I can know for certain that it is okay to use copyrighted works?
1. Creative Commons: Some creators anticipate that others will want to use their works, and they license it for others to use according to the licensing guidelines the creator chooses. You can find these licensed photos, audio, video, music, etc. through Creative Commons . Here is a guide to the Creative Commons licensing types.

2. Royalty Free: Another option is to use one of many, many sites that offer "royalty free" works. Search the Internet using the keyword phrase "royalty free image" or "royalty free video," etc. You will locate many options and asking other students and teachers you will find different people have their favorites. Be aware that most sites mix royalty free with paid content, so it is good to figure out the searching options for limiting search results to royalty free.

3. Public Domain: Once a copyright expires, the work is in the public domain and is not protected by copyright. It can be used by anyone. Again, search "public domain images," or "public domain video," etc. to find sites and lists of materials in the public domain.

What happens if I put something on, for example, YouTube, that includes copyrighted elements without permission to use it?
The best way to avoid breaking copyright law is to use all original work. Sometimes however, you need or want to use others' works. In that case take time to evaluate each element used in your creative work to understand whether what you have borrowed from others is protected by copyright. If an elemenbt is protected, and you still really want to use it, seek permission. If you use copyrighted work without permission and that usage is reported or discovered, you could receive notification that you are in violation of the owners' copyright protection with a warning to stop. In the case of You Tube, you may receive a "strike" notice from YouTube and find that your content has been removed. This can be frustrating and confusing, so the best defense is to ensure that you are clear on copyright before posting. See also: For Authors and Creators guide.

A Fair(y) Use Tale -- Stanford University

 This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 License
Video by Eric Faden and distributed by the The Media Education Foundation and the Center for Internet and Society (http://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/documentary-film-program/film/a-fair-y-use-tale).

Bound by the Law:  Tales from the Public Domain
Duke University
Duke's Center for the Study of the Public Domain prepared this comic book to help students distinguish between copyright infringement and fair use.

To get the most from this quide, review the "Understanding Copyright" section of this guide first. 

Q&As
Is it true that teachers can legally copy anything for classroom use under the doctine of "Fair Use?"
Teachers are granted some exclusions under the doctrine of "Fair Use." However, there is no single factor that can determine fair use. Fair use is determined by a balanced application of four factors set forth in the statute: (1) the purpose of the use; (2) the nature of the work used; (3) the amount and substantiality of the work used; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the work used.  Those factors form the structure of this Fair Use Checklist  which is for general purpose. Use it as a guide to determine if what you want to use in your classroom seems to fall witin the general guidelines for Fair use.

Can you provide an example of "fair use" versus "not fair use?"
Keeping in mind that only a court of law can actually decide fair use and that there may be circumstances or considerations which are not reflected, here is an example to illustrate what might be considered fair use versus what might not be. Let's say a teacher reads an article that pertains to the current unit of study and wants their students to read it. The teacher can likely duplicate the article for distribution to their classes for the current school year. This situation likely favors fair use. However, if the teacher decides to include that same article in a course packet or as a regular reading for future years, that same article would likely would not favor fair use.  

Does Taiwan recognize "Fair Use?"
Yes, Taiwan Copyright Law includes provisions that look very similar to am embody fair use. Here is a map that the Library Copyright Alliance created showing the application of the Fair Use and Fair Dealing doctrines around the world. Fair dealing is similar to fair use but generally applies to Commonwealth countries. 

Is is okay to scan something and post it on Canvas, or does this violate the distribution and digitizing ? 
Congress enacted the “Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act,” commonly known as the “TEACH Act.”  The TEACH Act establishes guidelines for using digitized, copyrighted material in online classroom environments. One of its fundamental objectives is to strike a balance between protecting copyrighted works, while permitting educators to use those materials in distance education.  Classroom management systems, like Canvas, Moodle, etc. are covered by provisions of this law. Use this TAS TEACH Act Checklist to document your digitizing of copyrighted materials.

What about showing full-length movies in the classroom?
Under the "Educational Exemption" copyrighted, entertainment movies may be shown in a school without copyright permission only if all criteria are met: (1) A teacher or instructor is present​; (2) The showing takes place in a classroom setting with only the enrolled students attending; (3) The movie is used as an essential part of the core, required curriculum being taught. (The instructor should be able to show how the use of the motion picture contributes to the overall required course study and syllabus.); (4) The movie being used is a legitimate copy, not taped from a legitimate copy or taped from TV.  Recommended for more information: Teach With Movies, section on "Copyright for using movies in the Classroom."

Unfortunatley, educational agencies in the USA that offer movie licensing options to schools including licensing for public performance rights for major Hollywood Studios do not (at this writing) cover licensing in Taiwan at the time of this writing. Two of these agencies include: Movie Licensing USA and Motion Picture Licensing Corp. (MPLC). Hopefully, they will one day expand to internaional coverage.

How can I find out more about all the copyright exclusions for teachers?
Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (Circ. 21) is a 24-page, PDF document that interprets copyright law for the lay person, providing background and interpretations for practical application in educational and library environments. The U.S. Copyright Office produces this series of circulars to provide up-to-date and authoritative information to a general audience.Rev: 08/2014.  

Advocacy
Library Copyright Alliance (LCA)  http://www.librarycopyrightalliance.org
The purpose of the LCA is to work toward a unified voice and common strategy for the library community in responding to and developing proposals to amend national and international copyright law and policy for the digital environment. The LCA’s mission is to foster global access and fair use of information for creativity, research, and education.

Teaching Copyright: Copyright FAQs; Lessons, Handouts, etc.; Resources, articles, blogs, etc.
Recommended site: Electronic Frontier Foundation

Authors and creators have an obligation to understand copyright for their own protection and for that of the owner of copyrighted works. Start here with this 30-minute Copyright 101 Tutorial (from BYU) and review the section of this guide "Understanding Copyright."

Rights of Copyright Holders

What kinds of works can be copyrighted?
A work is protected when it has been presented in some "tangible medium of expression"
(Section 102, Copyright Act) and includes:

(1) literary works
(2) musical works, including any accompanying words;
(3) dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
(4) pantomimes and choreographic works;
(5) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works;
(6) motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
(7) sound recordings;
(8) architectural works

Section 106 of the Copyright Act defines these rights:

(1) to reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords;
(2) to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work;
(3) to distribute copies or phonorecords of the copyrighted work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or lending;
(4) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and motion pictures and other audiovisual works, to perform the copyrighted work publicly;
(5) in the case of literary, musical, dramatic, and choreographic works, pantomimes, and pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works, including the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, to display the copyrighted work publicly; and
(6) in the case of sound recordings, to perform the copyrighted work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission.

Registering a copyright.

Works are copyrighted automatically once they are in a tangible form. But a creator can also register a copyright. 

Start here for filing a copyright application with the U.S.Copyright Office:
http://www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html

Resources to guide creation of video and other media in compliance with copyright.

• The Center for Media and Social Impact’s “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video”
• The Digital Media Law Project's detailed explanation of the Four Factors
• The US Copyright Office’s Fair Use Index 

Transformative Use is permitted
Recent trends in court decisions have introduced the concept of "transformative use" to the Fair Use discussion, considering these two questions:

• Has the material you have taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning?
• Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, and understandings?  (Stanford: Copyright & Fair Use)

Transformative uses that repurpose no more of a work than is needed to make the point, or achieve the purpose, are generally fair use. "  (Copyright Crash Course, Uniiversity of Texas)

Trademarks, Patents, and Copyrights
What is the difference? Read the difference here or watch this video to find out.

Finding images, audio files, and music.
There are many, many places to find pre-licensed or royalty-free works. Search [royalty free] plus whatever type of file you need such as [video], [image], [music], etc.