Copyright Myths
I find it interesting that many faculty members believe that anything they do in education can be justified as not needing copyright clearance because it is educational usage.
If faculty just thought about textbooks, they could see that this was not the case. We must purchase textbooks and not just make copies of them. They have a copyright and are, for the most part, purely intended for educational usage. Would someone write a textbook if they would never receive payment because it was for educational usage?
Obviously there are many things that have copyrights attached to them that still require obtaining the rights to them when used in an educational setting. I see faculty using music in online chat rooms without proper copyright clearance. There are specific laws that govern that and rights must be obtained. The university I work with now has a license to use certain music and I am fine to use as long as I make sure the music is from approved lists based on the license agreements. Similar rights are needed for graphics too.
It is always best to find out what your university licenses are available and how you must proceed. I have even been in in-service training when the person training mentions that copyrights are not something we must worry about because we are in education. Not true!
Craig
LiKeyasha,
This is an excellent resource to add to our growing list. Thank you!
Shelly Crider
Creative Commons has made it possible to identify the types of licenses resources have attached to them. Creative Commons has a library of resources that can be sorted based on the type of license. If you are looking for resources that can be used in education as they are or slightly modified, you can find them there.
Tonya,
Excellent post and I like your plan of action.
Shelly Crider
Taiwan, I'm with you and plan to do the same.
As a creator of content and intellectual property, I think about how I would like my work handled.
It would simply be nice to know that someone saw enough value in something that I created or wrote to consider using it to educate others.
I plan to always give credit when I can verify the source.
mica,
Good point on the law perspective! We definitely need to know what we are working with.
Shelly Crider
Furthermore, this is such a tricky area because it is frequently changing—that is, the law regarding intellectual property and what falls under the umbrella of “fair use.â€
In the years that I’ve been teaching, I’ve seen a fair amount of change myself.
To further muddy the waters, “where†you are teaching has a lot to do with what you can and cannot use. For instance, there’s a fair amount of difference in the law depending upon whether you teach at a for-profit or nonprofit institution.
It is a tricky deal.
When in doubt, I suppose, it makes sense to use things that you know are truly open source, or resources that the students have purchased in their supply kits.
Best,
Mica
Great post Craig, I know that some schools have been getting in some trouble for using imagery from unapproved sources like Google Image without the proper approvals. There was a huge lawsuit with Getty Images and Universities also where faculty members and students were using the "educational use" images in their professional work. Big No-No!
Taiwan,
Perfect rule to follow through with!!
Shelly Crider
When it comes to copyright laws in an academic setting, I live by one rule of thumb...when in doubt, cite it out.
Craig,
Very good post. We should always be citing where we get our resources from and be careful not to copy books.
Shelly Crider
