The purpose of this policy is to assist faculty who are teaching or developing curriculum to abide by the copyright law as it applies to the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences and not to infringe on other's copyright privileges. The law is often difficult to interpret, even for lawyers. Please do your best to understand this policy and seek further assistance or consultation if need be. The following terms need to be operationalized and are defined for the purposes of this policy as follows:
1. Copyright - Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of "original works of authorship." This protection is available to both published and unpublished works. It should be noted that copyright is a form of protection while Intellectual Property is that which is being protected (in most cases).
2. Intellectual Property - Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind: inventions, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, images, and designs used in commerce.
3. Works Made For Hire - Section 101 of the Copyright Law of 1976 defines a "work made for hire" as:
- A work prepared by an employee within the scope of his or her employment; or
- A work specially ordered or commission for use as:
Only the author or those deriving their rights through the author can rightfully claim copyright. In the case of works made for hire, the employer and not the employee is considered to be the author.
4. Public Domain - These works are excluded from copyright protection and include works of the federal government, judicial opinions, copyright expiration (70 years after death of author) or when copyright has been abandoned. An example of this is the 1918 edition of Gray's Anatomy.
The University of St. Augustine requires that all faculty have a reasonable understanding of Copyright Policy and an appreciation of our policy with regards to Works Made For Hire. This policy sets forth both these items and in particular presents a tabulation of, and worksheet for their use.
The University of St. Augustine is an institution of higher education, considered for purposes of copyright policy to be private and for-profit. As a result of this status the University of St. Augustine does not gain benefit from the policies created specifically for higher education institutions of a non-profit nature. Specifically, these are the Copyright Harmonization (TEACH Act) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). The University of ST. Augustine should then be governed by the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, specifically section 107 on Fair Use which allows provisions for academic institutions.
It is the policy of the University of St. Augustine to provide education and guidance in the form of copyright policy and support. It is the responsibility of every educator to make an earnest attempt at understanding copyright law and how it pertains to their responsibilities in a higher education setting. Additionally it should be understood that there is a distinction and additional concerns in the distance education environment. Based on the highly misunderstood nature of copyright law, this policy will attempt to provide further guidance and resources for faculty at the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences. This policy describes copyright issues as they apply to the traditional classroom, library, multimedia presentations, Websites and online education.
Special Copyright Provisions for Academia
The Copyright Act contains specific exceptions for the use of copyright-protected materials by academic institutions. These provisions include:
- "Section 107 on Fair Use, which applies to activities such as the use of excerpts for illustration or comment; the unexpected and spontaneous reproduction of classroom materials, and the creation of parodies. The fair use of a copyrighted work also includes such use by reproduction in copies or recordings or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research and is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:
- The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for non-profit education purposes;
- The nature of the copyrighted work;
- The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
- The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
Based on these four factors, the University has developed the following comparison table that may be helpful to assist faculty in assessing the legality of using a work in our educational setting. The bottom line: The University of St. Augustine does not qualify for typical copyright exclusions granted to non-profit educational institutions. Therefore, the University is governed by the same law that most businesses comply with: the Fair Use Act. You may use this table to confirm that you are using written materials or images in a legal manner and according to the Fair Use Law as interpreted by the University of St. Augustine. An additional worksheet and checklist are offered (see attached) as supplemental tools to assist faculty in determining their adherence to Copyright Law.
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You Are Favoring Fair Use |
You Are Opposing Fair Use |
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You are teaching |
Performing a commercial activity |
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You are performing research |
Profiting from its use (teaching a seminar using another person’s ideas or original work without permission) |
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You are performing scholarship |
Providing entertainment |
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Using for criticism |
Bad-faith behavior |
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Using for comment |
Denying credit to original author |
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New reporting |
Unpublished work |
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Transforming (changing the work for new use) |
Large portion or whole work use (copying a chapter in a book and giving it to your class) |
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Restricted access |
Portion used is central to work or “heart of work” |
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Parody |
Could replace sale of copyrighted work (using a portion of a textbook without having students actually purchase the book |
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Published work |
Significantly impairs market or market value |
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Important to favored educational objectives |
Reasonably available licensing mechanism in place (a journal article can usually be secured legally and paid for in most cases) |
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Small quantity |
Affordable permissions available |
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Portion used is not significant or central to entire work |
Numerous copies made (giving an article or portion of book, Website, or image to an entire class of 50 people without obtaining proper permission) |
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User owns |
Repeated or long term use |
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One or few copies made |
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No significant effect on the market |
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No similar product marketed by the copyright holder |
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Lack of licensing mechanism |
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When considering fair use, please use the attached checklist to assist you in documenting your thought process on the materials in question. After you have checked all appropriate boxes you may find that one column is weighted more heavily than another. Should you find the “opposed to fair use column” weighted more heavily you will need to remove those items from your teaching presentation and materials, and then proceed to obtain permission from the appropriate authors. This documentation should be kept on file for the life of its use.