Melanie R. Barber EDUC Dr. D. Wilson October 18, 2010 Copyright Infringement Tutorial

What is the penalty for copyright infringement? Copyright infringement has numerous penalties such as: A state Court issuing a ruling for the infringement to cease The illegally used works can be impounded The copyright owner can recover any damages or profits from the infringer illegally using the works of the copyright owner The Court can provide a range from $200 to $150,000 for each work used illegally The infringer may serve time in jail The infringer may pay for all attorney fees and court costs Copyright Infringement Penalties

What does the term "fair use" mean and who is included in the fair use clause? Fair use is a copyright rule based on the idea of people freely using copyrighted materials for the purpose of giving commentary or criticism. The fair use clause includes authors, recording artists,news reporters, researchers, artists, audiovisual recordings, web site authors, and software creators and has proper usage terms for each. Fair Use Policies

What are the conditions for deciding fair use? The Court determines whether or not a work is considered "fair use" by determining the purpose and character of the work used, the nature of the work that was copyrighted, the amount of the work used, and the effect of the usage of the copyrighted work on the proposed market. Conditions For Deciding Fair Use

When using multimedia in the classroom, what kinds of things need to be considered when determining whether copyright has been adhered to? In order to reduce the risk of copyright infringement, the user can pay whatever fees necessary in using the copyrighted material. Fair use may be used in this matter, however if the third party decides to commercialize the material therein lies a problem. Permissions must be obtained prior to usage of the works. Consideration of Copyright in Using Multimedia in the Classroom

What are the conditions for using someone else’s words? This is considered the making of "derivative works" which are works based on another person's ideas. For example, this would apply if you were to create a story based on another person's characters or ideas.In this scenario, you would have to request the author's permission. The only exception to this law is under the fair use policy if the party that wishes to use the work were to create a parody or criticism. "I Put Their Words Into My Own Words"

What are the conditions for using another’s musical score? The copyright law of the United States provides for copyright protection for musical works including original compositions and original arrangements. The owner of copyright in a work has the exclusive right to make copies, derivative works, to sell or give away copies, and to perform the work publicly. Anyone that wants to use the work must have the permission of the author or someone who has received rights through the author. "I Wrote That Song!"

What are the guidelines for using film in the classroom? Nonprofit educational institutions can record programs shown on cable and network television stations. A video recording of a broadcast can be created at the request of, and used by, individual teachers. Only enough copies may be created from each recording for teachers, and the recordings cannot be combined to create teaching compilations. How To Properly Use Film in the Classroom

What if you want to tape something off the TV to use in the classroom…What are the rules here? The same rules apply for using film in the classroom. Nonprofit educational institutions can record programs shown on cable and network television stations and video recordings can be given to teachers upon request. However, if the teacher wants to use the recording within the curriculum, he/she must receive permission from the owner of the copyrighted material. Rules For Using Personal Television Recordings in the Classroom

How can you get permission to use items in your classroom? Permission can be granted through the use of clearance centers. A clearance center will produce a search engine to find the copyrighted material of your choice, obtain permission for you to use it, and, if multiple works are requested, will assemble an academic coursepack for you. An academic coursepack is a book of approximately 20 or 30 copyrighted works used for educational purposes. How To Get Permission To Use These Items in the Classroom

When items are posted to a website what should the creator be careful to consider? The creator should be careful to not assume that simply because the material is posted on a web site that it is public domain. A web site creator should work under the assumption that all posted works from other sites are copyrighted. All unautohrized materials should be removed from the creator's site and Terms and Conditions and "Read Me" files should always be read before use. What Should Web Site Creators Take Into Consideration?

Resources