Overview of the Federal Copyright Act

Pictures and Information in this presentation are used in compliance with the Federal Copyright Act of 1976, as amended.

The federal Copyright Act of 1976, as amended (“the Copyright Act”), establishes limitations on when copyright protected work can be copied, displayed, performed, recorded, transmitted, and/or distributed by anyone other than the author or creator of the work.

The purpose of this presentation is to provide an overview of the Copyright Act. Specific information addressing if, when and how copyright protected work can be used for instruction of students and training or professional development of employees will be addressed in two separate presentations entitled “Authorization to Use Copyright Protected Work”; and “The Copyright Act—Face-to-Face Teaching & Fair Use Exemptions”.

The presentation does not provide legal advice regarding whether an intended use of copyright protected work meets the requirements of the Copyright Act. Any specific questions should be addressed to an attorney-at-law.

PURPOSE

The Copyright Act provides exclusive property rights to authors or creators of original work to:

Copy, record (or re-record), and/or Distribute copies of the work;

Create other work derived from the original work; or

Perform, Display or Transmit the work publicly.

Information about the federal Copyright Act, including the complete text, history, and guidance from the Copyright Office can be found at http://www.copyright.gov.

The Copyright Act

Owner of the Copyright

The author or creator of the work owns the copyright. The author or creator may transfer copyright ownership to another person or entity.

The employer owns work created by an employee in the scope of his or her employment under the “Work made for Hire” doctrine.

Joint authors or creators are co-

owners of the copyright, unless they otherwise agree.

Students are the copyright owners of the work they produce for and in school.

Copyright © 2012 A BSD Student. All right reserved.

The Copyright Act Protects:

Protections under the Copyright Act apply to:

Literary, printed, or handwritten works Dramatic works Artistic works Musical works and sound recordings

Photographs, illustrations, and other visual/digital images Movies or videos Television broadcasts

Architectural works (including blueprints and drawings) Software Content found on the Internet and Web Pages, including

streamed radio broadcasts

The Copyright Act does not protect:

Ideas, facts, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, (written or recorded descriptions, explanations, or illustrations are protected);

Works of information that is commonly available that contain no originality, pictures or illustrations (i.e. calendars; growth charts; periodic tables);

Titles, names, short phrases, slogans, or listings of ingredients or contents;

What is Not Protected by the Copyright Act?

The Copyright Act also does not protect:

Works by the Federal Government and some works created by Delaware State Agencies including Delaware School Districts;

Works that are not fixed in a tangible form, such as a spontaneous jazz performance or speech; or

Work in the Public Domain (discussed below).

What is Not Protected by the Copyright Act?

When is Original Work Protected by the Copyright Act?

Since 1978, the original work of an author or creator is protected by the Copyright Act immediately and automatically when the work is in a tangible form that can be held, read, seen, or heard with the aid of a transmitter.

A notice that the work is protected by copyright is not required, nor does the work need to be published or officially registered with the federal Copyright Office.

Other rules apply to work created or published before January 1, 1978 that may be in the public domain.

Copyright protections last for a limited amount of time. Once the copyright term expires, or if copyright protections never applied, the work is said to be in the public domain and can be used without limitation.

The Chart on the next page provides information on when an original work has or will be in the public domain.

Public Domain

Date of Publication/Creation

Publication Requirement

Date in Public Domain

Published before 1923 Currently in the Public Domain.

Published between1923 to 12-31-1963

Published with the Copyright Notice

If the term is not renewed—Currently in the Public Domain. If the term is renewed—Between 2018 and 2058 based upon publication date.

Published between1964 to 12-31-1977

Published with the Copyright Notice

Between 2059 and 2072 based upon publication date.

Created before 1-1-1978

Created but not published

Life of the creator plus 70 years or 12-31-2002 whichever term is greater.

Created before 1-1-1978

Published between 1-1-1978 to 12-32-2002

Life of the creator plus 70 years or 12-31-2047 whichever term is greater.

Created after 1-1-1978

No requirements for publication or Notice of Copyright

Life of the creator plus 70 years.

When will a copyright protected work go into the Public Domain?

Copying, displaying or performing in public, re-recording, transmitting, creating a work derived from the original work, or distributing copyright protected work without authorization from the copyright owner is an infringement of the copyright owner’s rights.

Court costs, the copyright owner’s attorney’s fees , and fines from $500+ (for inadvertent or unintentional copyright infringement ) to $100,000 (for willful or knowledgeable copyright infringement) have been imposed when a court determines that copyright infringement has occurred.

Unauthorized use of Copyright Protected Work

Courts have found public school teachers personally liable for copyright infringement when copyright protected work was used for instruction.

Wihtol v. Crow, 309 F.2d 777 (8th Cir. 1962)—Wihtol, a public high school music teacher, was found liable for creating choir music for high school students using excerpts from a copyright protected song. Wihtol was fined for intentional copyright infringement and required to pay the copyright owner’s attorney’s fees.

Marcus v. Rowley et al, 695 F.2d 1171 (9th Cir. 1983)—Rowley, a public high school Home Economics teacher, was found liable for using approximately 50% of a copyright protected brochure by creating an instructional guide for students in her high school Home Economics class. Rowley was ordered to pay fines and fees.

Unauthorized use of Copyright Protected Work

In addition, acknowledgement of the source of information is not enough to protect the user of copyright protected work from being held responsible for copyright infringement. Runge v. Lee, 441 F.2d 579 (9th Cir. 1971)—Lee used some

amount of copyright protected work for his own purposes. He appropriately acknowledged the source of the work but did not receive authorization from the copyright owner to use the work. The court found Lee liable for copyright infringement because the requirements of the Copyright Act had not been followed.

Unauthorized use of Copyright Protected Work

It is important to understand the requirements of the

Copyright Act in order to avoid being found liable for copyright infringement, and to comply with Board Policy 06.19.

Understanding the Requirements of the Copyright Act

General rules for using work created by someone other than yourself for instruction of student or training/professional development of employees:

If the work is protected by the Copyright Act, instructors, teachers, and students cannot copy, record (or re-record), display, perform, transmit, create work derived from the original work, and/or distribute the work without the authorization of the copyright owner.

If the work is not protected by the Copyright Act, the work can be used without authorization from the author or creator. Instructors, teachers, and students can copy, record (or re-record), display, perform, transmit, create work derived from the original work, and/or freely distribute the work.

Work that is not protected by copyright may be protected by the laws on Trademark ®, Patents, and plagiarism which are not addressed by this presentation.

General Rules for Using Work Created by Someone elseFor Instruction of Students or

Training/Professional Development of Staff

A copyright owner has authorized the use of copyright protected work if: A legal copy of the work has been purchased for each student or

participant (i.e. textbooks instructional materials); The copyright notice from a legally purchased copy of the work

authorizes the user to copy, re-record, display, perform, transmit, create derivative work, and/or distribute copies to students or participants;

The appropriate license fee has been paid or a license agreement has been made allowing the user to copy, re-record, display, perform, transmit, create derivative work, and/or distribute copies to students or participants from one legally acquired copy of the material;

Written authorization has been requested and obtained from the copyright owner.

Authorized Use of Copyright Protected Work

If the user is unable to obtain permission from the copyright owner, the Copyright Act provides two exemptions from the general rules for students and employees of non-profit educational institutions to use copyright protected work without the authorization of the copyright owner if the work is used for educational purposes known as the Face-to-Face Teaching and the Fair Use exemptions. Specific information about these exemptions are provided in the presentation entitled “The Copyright Act—Face-to-Face Teaching & Fair Use Exemptions”.

Exemptions provided bythe Copyright Act

Copyright protected work can only be copied, displayed or performed in public, recorded, transmitted, used to create a derivative work, or distributed by anyone other than the copyright owner if:

The copyright owner has authorized the intended use of the work;

The work is no longer protected or was never protected by the Copyright Act; or

The Face-to-Face or Fair Use exemption applies.

The best practice, however, is to have authorization from the copyright owner before using copyright protected work.

Summary

Summary Chart

Status of the Work to be Used

Work is Not Protected Work is Protected

Work in the Public Domain

Purchased Copies

License

Written Authorization

Face-to-Face Teaching Exemption

Work created Government

Fair Use Exemption

Work never Protected

Unrestricted use of Cannot use unless

Federal Copyright Website www.copyright.gov Circulars 1,3,15a, 21, and 22.

Know Your Copy Rights —What You Can Do, [brochure] Washington, DC: ARL, 2007 at www.knowyourcopyrights.org.

References & Resources

Technology & Learning—Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers www.techlearning.com

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers www.halldavidson.org

Copyright Kids www.copyrightkids.org

References & Resources