Building on Other’s Creative Expression By: Alicia Trevino

The public domain and orphan works Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Microsoft, among others, are partnering with cultural institutions to increase the pace at which these collections are brought to the public.(small, medium and massive digitization projects ) Digitization has unleashed unprecedented interest in our cultural heritage, especially that portion of it that resides free and clear, in the public domain. Mass digitization has facilitated growing recognition that a policy of overprotection is just as destructive of copyright's aims as one of underprotection

The public domain and orphan works Google Book Search library partners are working with Google to enhance the algorithmic estimates Google must use. Applying human thinking about resources, work flows, and best practices for using the information we dig up to free those works that are already in the public domain but not heretofor identified as such.

Content on the Web Copyright law governs the use of materials you might find on the Internet, just as it governs the use of books, video or music in the analog world. Many people assume that everything posted on the Internet is public domain, probably because our law used to protect published works only if they displayed the proper copyright notice upon publication. Neither publication nor a notice of any kind is required to protect works today.

Content on the Web The saving grace: implied and express licenses to use Internet materials It is implied that when an author puts their publication on the internet they are aware that it will be copied, read or printed. Implied license Implied licenses are vital to the operation of the Internet, but they are not as good as express licenses, licenses that spell out in detail what rights the author of a work wants readers, viewers or listeners to have.

Content on the Web The saving grace: implied and express licenses to use Internet materials You can easily give your works an express license by attaching a Creative Commons license to the materials you post on your Website, or upload to other sites.Creative Commons

Content on the Web Liability for posting infringing works The proliferation of RIAA lawsuits against individuals for peer-to- peer file-sharing make clear that individuals can be liable for their own actions when they copy and distribute others' copyrighted works without permission. The role of fair use Fair use plays a critical role in the analog world. It balances authors' rights to reasonable compensation with the public's rights to the ideas contained in copyrighted works.

Fair Use Fair use is described as a shadowy territory whose boundaries are disputed, more so now than ever, since it applies in the online environment.

Fair Use Individual liability for infringement The penalties for infringement are very harsh: the court can award up to $150,000 for each separate act of willful infringement.penalties for infringement are very harsh Willful infringement means that you knew you were infringing and you did it anyway.

Fair Use First Steps Ask these questions before copying works on the web. 1.Is the work protected? 2.If the work is protected, has your campus already licensed rights for you to use the work? 3.Is the work available freely on the open Web, and therefor covered by an implied license? 4. Has the owner of the work used a Creative Commons license (or similar) to give the public the right to use the work in the way that you would like to use it? 5. If you don't have express or implied rights, do you want to exercise one of the owner's exclusive rights?owner's exclusive rights 6. Is your use exempt or excused from liability for infringement?

Fair Use Exemptions Our libraries are authorized to exercise special rights in addition to fair use. These rights are described in Section 108 of the copyright law and include:Section 108 archiving lost, stolen, damaged or deteriorating works archiving lost, stolen, damaged or deteriorating works making copies for library patrons making copies for other libraries' patrons (interlibrary loan) making copies for other libraries' patrons (interlibrary loan)

Fair Use Exemptions Educational institutions and governmental agencies are also authorized by a separate copyright statute to publicly display and perform others' works in the course of face-to-face teaching activities, and to a lesser degree, in digital distance education.

Teach Act Copyright law provides educators with a separate set of rights in addition to fair use, to display (show) and perform (show or play) others' works in the classroom. These rights are in Section 110(1) of the Copyright Act and apply to any work, regardless of the medium. In 1998, Congress directed the Copyright Office to prepare a report recommending what should be done to facilitate the use of digital technologies in distance education. The TEACH Act became law in late 2002.

Teach Act The TEACH Act expands the scope of educators' rights to perform and display works and to make the copies integral to such performances and displays for digital distance education, making the rights closer to those we have in face-to-face teaching. Fair use also remains important because the in- classroom activities (even if the classroom is virtual) the TEACH Act authorizes are a small subset of the uses of electronic resources educators may wish to make. It only covers in class performances and displays, not, for example, digital delivery of supplemental reading, viewing, or listening materials.

Getting Permission Steps to getting permission is sometimes difficult it depends on what type of work you are looking for. If the work is part of a book or a journal article, check the Copyright Clearance Center ("CCC") first.Copyright Clearance Center

Getting Permission There are a number of collective rights organizations. For further information on all these collective rights organizations go to html