189.2 Copyright Guidelines

189.2 Copyright Guidelines

A. Background

The use of computer and multimedia materials by Furman University faculty and staff for teaching and/or public presentation purposes can, without the permission of the copyright owners, be a violation of the copyright law. Computer and multimedia materials are a part of the normal teaching and public presentation processes at Furman University. The use of computer and multimedia materials is now common enough where faculty and staff need clarification as to when computer and multimedia materials may be used without the consent of the copyright owner, when permission to use computer and multimedia materials must be obtained, and when royalties or fees must be paid.

B. Policy

Faculty and staff are to adhere to the intent and provisions of the law concerning the use of computer and multimedia materials on the campus of Furman University. Copyright infringement is only a consideration when a work has copyright protection. All works (with or without the copyright notice) are potentially copyrighted unless other information is known, and they should be treated as copyrighted material. The general rule to keep in mind when reviewing all copyright situations and the applicability of fair use (For the meaning of the term "fair use", refer to Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 107, Copyright Act of 1978. All subsequent use of the term "fair use" in this document will be in reference to this code.) is that permission should be obtained when the copy would detrimentally impact the market for the copyrighted work. When a copyright expires, the work has entered the public domain and can be used freely without infringement.

C. Guidelines

1. Off-Air Taping in Copyrighted Works for Educational Use

This section discusses recording of television broadcasts for playback in classroom setting. The guidelines establish, generally, that:

a. Broadcast may be recorded off-air simultaneously with the broadcast including cable transmissions and retained by the educational institution for a period not to exceed forty-five (45) days. After this point, all copies must be destroyed.

b. The off-air recording may be presented only once unless a single additional performance is necessary for educational reinforcement. Presentation is limited to the first ten (10) consecutive school days from broadcast. The remaining thirty-five (35) days of the forty-five (45) day period, only allow the tape to be used for evaluation purposes to determine if the tape should be purchased or licensed.

c. Off-air recording may only be made at the request of the individual teacher and may not be regularly made in anticipation of requests. No off-air broadcast may be recorded more than once by the same teacher, regardless of the number of times the program was rebroadcast.

d. A limited number of copies may be made to meet the needs of the educator subject to the above requirements.

e. Off-air recordings may not be merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.

f. Copyright notices must be include in all copies.

2. Copyrighted Motion Pictures

A copyrighted motion picture may be shown for instructional purposes provided that admission is not charged. Tuition and course fees are not considered admission fees. The motion picture may not be used for fundraising or for any other activity which may have a market effect. A copy of this motion picture may not be made for another teacher's use.

3. Public Broadcasts (Free and Cable Television)

Generally, the motion picture guidelines apply to public broadcast which are broadcast to homes and schools. This does not included cable subscription services such as HBO, ShowTime, and MSNBC. However, the fair use doctrine may allow the taping of these subscription channels. A case-by-case determination should be followed.

4. Rented Videos in Classroom Instruction

This section deals with playing videos which are marked "HOME USE ONLY" in the classrooms when the video was obtained through rental. Videos of this nature may be used if the following criteria are met:

a. The tape is a legitimate copy of the work. The person responsible for presentation has no reason to believe that the video is not.

b. The tape relates to the curriculum and is not intended for the entertainment, recreational use, or cultural value of viewers. The entire presentation involves a teaching activity.

c. Presentation is by an educator or student.

d. Presentation is in a location for study such as the classroom, lecture hall or gymnasium.

e. Presentation is conducted by a non-profit educational institution.

f. Viewing is limited to students, educators, and guest educators.

g. An admission fee is not charged.

h. Presentation is in a face to face teaching activity (e.g. Distance Learning).

Special Consideration

It is not permissible for an educator to make a backup copy of a rented video. However, a library or archive department may be able to make a copy if the copy is licensed to the library or archive department.

5. Replay of Rented Video by Fraternities, Activity Groups, and Student Groups for Entertainment of General Viewing

The public displays for general viewing and displays for entertainment are prohibited. The showing of a rented movie for a fraternity, sorority, activity group, and/or student group of thirty (30) or more members would impact the market for the copyrighted work. Therefore, it is prohibited without the expressed written consent of the copyright holder. A movie club, however, may be able to show rented movies if the viewing is a for purely educational critique of the movie. This argument is strengthened if the movie club was sponsored by the non-profit educational institution for supplementing the educational curriculum.

6. Replay of Rented Video in Cultural Life Programs

Cultural Life Programs (CLP) may offer public showings of a work for critique by individuals attending the program. The CLP cannot involve an admission charge other than tuition. CLPs may, at times, repeat the same work through out the year for critique and analysis.

Special Note: Since CLP events are generally open to the public, special considerations must be made for those events that have continuous showings of the same copyrighted videos year-to-year. Such performances fall under the Copyright Act, and a license from the owner must be obtained before the video is shown.

7. Slides Made from Copyrighted Printed Illustrations or Photographs

Slides may be made from existing and copyrighted photographs or illustrations for presentation in the classroom if the slides are used to supplement the lecture. A copyright owner has the right to determine the format in which the original work is reproduced. Converting a printed illustration or photograph to a slide would infringe the copyright owner's right to prepare derivative works. Generally, permission should be obtained. When a slide of the original work is readily available for a fair price, the educational institution should either acquire the slide from the copyright owner or should acquire the slide from a source which is licensed to circulate the slides.

8. Cable Channel Projections

The requirements for the projection of copyrighted material over an institution's cable channel are the same requirements as for the CLP requirements discussed above. Since the broadcast is not limited to individuals directly in an educational class or lecture, the broadcast constitutes a public disclosure and permission should be obtained before use.

9. Audio and Video Dubbing for Back and Archival Purposes

Copyrighted audio and video materials may be "copied" for archival purposes under the following pretenses:

a. To place the copy or original on reserve.

b. To maintain the other for back-up purposes.

For audiovisual and motion pictures, one (1) copy may be preserved in perpetuity exclusively for archival purposes. It is not an infringement of copyright for a library or archives, or any of its employees acting within the scope of their employment to reproduce no more than one (1) copy of a work or to distribute such copy under the conditions specified by this section.

10. Editing Audiocassettes and Videocassettes for Classroom or Lecture Presentation

Modifications may be made to works for educational activities, comment, criticism and parody. However, the audience must be informed that the work was modified from the original author's work.

11. Videotaping and Audio Taping of On-campus Events

A single copy of recordings of performances by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. The copyright notice must be included. Generally, performance by a school band at an athletic event requires a license from the copyright owner since this constitutes a public performance and would doubtfully fall under fair use. Permission is necessary for videotaping the performance.

When a guest speaker is invited to the educational institution and prepares and delivers a speech at the request of the educational institution, two considerations exist. First, a determination or agreement should exist establishing who owns the copyright in the speech or performance. Secondly, the uses of the copyrighted work by both the educational institution and the speaker or performer should be discussed and agreed upon. A discussion or agreement between the institution and the speaker should exist so any terms, conditions, or restrictions of uses of the work are known and amicable to both parties. This agreement can be achieved by a standard agreement which could be modified for the specific needs or requests for each invited speaker or performer.

12. Production of Digital Images

Under the suggestions of current laws and guidelines, educators may:

a. Display digital images for educational purposes, research and scholarly activity;

b. Compile digital images for displays on a secure electronic network if the network is restricted to the students enrolled in the course, the teachers;

c. Use images for lectures, presentations in the fields of educators and students for seminars, workshops, and conferences if these events are non-commercial in nature. The images must be relevant to or connected with research, study, or teachings.

Students are allowed to:

a. Use digital images for academic purposes such as term papers, theses, or fulfilling degree requirements.

b. Publicly display digital images for formal critique in non-profit educational institutions.

c. Retain digital images for personal portfolios for later use in graduate school or in obtaining employment.

Publication of images in digital form generally requires permission and is not covered by these guidelines.

13. Use of Audio and Video Material in Web Authoring

Copyright work used in the creation and maintenance of Web Sites and Web Authoring are subject to the Copyright Act. Generally, the guidelines apply that all lawfully acquired copyrighted works can be incorporated into multimedia projects. Lawfully acquired is defined as acquired by license, gift, purchase, and/or other legal transfer and does not include pirated works.

14. Multimedia Presentations

Students and teacher may incorporate lawfully acquired copyrighted work in multimedia presentations during instructional or educational activities of the educational institution. Presentation of multimedia projects by the educator can be by face-to-face instruction, assigned to students for self-study, or remote presentation over secured networks provided technological limitations exist to access of the work (such as a PIN number). Additionally, technological safeguards that prevent copying the work should exist. If duplication cannot be prevented, the work should be removed from the access after fifteen (15) days, however, a copy may be placed on reserve on-site for review by the student in the course.

Limitations:

a. Educators may use multimedia projects for two (2) years before permission is necessary.

b. Students may use a presentation for the educational purpose created, for their own portfolio, and for obtaining future employment.

c. Motion media should only contain up to 10 percent or three (3) minutes of the original work.

d. Text should be limited to 10 percent of a thousand (1000) words of the original work. An entire poem may be used if no more than two hundred fifty (250) words, but not more than three (3) from the same poet.

e. Up to 10 percent of music, lyrics and music video may be used, but no more than thirty (30) seconds.

f. Photographs are generally determined under fair use, but no more than five (5) photographs by the same artist should be used.

g. Numeric sets should be limited to 10 percent of twenty-five hundred (2500) fields or cell entries.

15. Sources for obtaining copyright licenses or permission are available in the Office of Multimedia Services.

NOTE: Caution should always be exercised when downloading from the Internet since there is usually a mixture of public domain and copyrighted works. Access through the Internet does not automatically place a work in public domain nor relieve the duty of royalty payments for a used.

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