History of Copyright

 

Copyright and fair use issues have become a great source of debate for today’s educators. These matters can also cause a great deal of concern for school districts and colleges.  In this paper, we will be taking a look at the history of copyright, the implications of copyright laws for education, the responsibilities of the students and teachers and the issues and consequences of non-compliance.

 

Since the late 19th century, educators and students have been protected somewhat from copyright laws by fair use. This allows teachers and students to share and learn from materials that might otherwise be off limits due to copyright constraints.  The issue is relatively simple in terms, but can become quite complicated in definition and explanation. From one view, the creator of a product should have sole rights to profit from copyrighted materials. However, the view from an educational standpoint is that teachers should have a right to use appropriate materials for educational purposes.
To understand what constitutes fair use some background information is needed; copyrights were established by federal law in 1910. Any documents that were produced before that time are considered to be in the public domain. The public domain still includes documents produced today that are available to the public, such as reports produced by the government. Most other material published after 1910, however, is covered by copyright laws which provide legal protection to the creator or owners for the length of their lives plus 50 years (Tiene & Ingram, 2001, p. 181).
Due to the ease of accessing information on the internet, students and teachers are faced with copyright issues on an ongoing basis. It is important that they have a good grasp of what constitutes fair use and what constitutes copyright infringement. School districts must be aware of the laws and how they affect the practices of their teachers and students. Administrators should make sure that fair use policies are posted and followed and that consequences for infringements are strictly set out and consequences are imposed on violators (Conn, 2002).
The Copyright Act of 1976 in Section 107 sets out the guidelines for “fair use” of copyrighted materials for things such as teaching and other educational purposes, including the teacher’s right to make multiple copies for use in the classroom. Fair use, however, does not give a teacher “blanket permission” to use copyrighted works. The four relevant factors setting out fair use of copyrighted works are:
 
  1. Whether the purpose and character of the use are of a commercial nature or are for nonprofit educational purposes.
  2. Whether the nature of the copyrighted work itself is primarily factual or creative.
  3. How much of the work is used, or how substantial is the part used, in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
  4. How the use affects the author's ability to market and realize a profit from the work (Conn, 2002).
 
 
Implications for Education
 
Copyright issues for the teacher can be at the least confusing and in most cases, somewhat mind boggling. The laws of fair use are very much left to interpretation of the teacher, which may not always be the correct or legal interpretation. This confusion is why it is so important for districts to provide clear written guidelines for fair use of printed materials for teachers. Teachers also must play a key role in their own compliance by learning about the laws and planning their classroom activities around the limitations of fair use. This is not always easy, especially with current school budget cuts and time constraints. Teachers should be aware that the following guidelines constitute a good general rule of thumb concerning what is not fair use and may be copyright infringement (Conn, 2002).
 
Indiscriminate copying of materials, whether hard copy or online, even if the material does not bear a copyright notice.
 
  1. Copying computer programs, except for archiving or backing up personally owned copies.
  2. Copying consumables, including workbooks, proprietary worksheets, standardized tests, test booklets, and answer keys, unless specific permission of the publisher is given in writing.
  3. Copying short articles, essays, or graphics to create anthologies or class collections.
  4. Copying in excess of the fair use guidelines for print materials (Conn, 2002).
     
As a general rule under fair use, teachers can do the following:
 
  1. Make one copy of any work for personal research or scholarship, or make multiple copies for classroom use, provided that the materials are used for only one class, conform with the fair use guidelines for print materials.
  2. Make videotape recordings of television programs that must not be used repeatedly, must be shown within 10 days of recording, and they must destroy or erase them within 45 days. Teachers also may not combine tapes to create anthologies, and they must include copyright notice with any recording.
  3. Although no guidelines are in place for multimedia presentations (i.e., presentations using computer images, music, sounds, etc.), teachers should follow the print and off-air broadcast guidelines as general rules (Conn, 2002).

 

Teachers and administrators must be a good example for students by practicing and strictly following fair use guidelines.  It is important for teachers to know the copyright policies of their school district, and equally important that these policies are passed on to the student.  With clear guidelines for teachers and students, each becomes responsible for their use of copyrighted materials.

 

 
 
 
 
Works Cited

Conn, K.  The internet and the law: what educators need to know.  ASCD. http://www.ascd.org.  Accessed 30 Sept 2007.

Tiene, D. & Ingram, A. (2001).  Exploring current issues in educational technology. Boston.  McGrawHill.

 

 

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