Fair Use
From IAE-Pedia
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
The totality of collected data, information, knowledge, and wisdom is growing very rapidly. The Web and other computerized information storage and retrieval systems have opened up much of this collection of students and teachers. Such materials are an important resource for teaching, learning, and problem solving.
The Internet has raised new issues of intellectual property rights. Many teachers and students are confused about their rights to make teaching and learning uses of these materials. The meaning of "fair use" differs considerably from person to person. Quoting from a 2007 eSchool News article:
- Teachers face conflicting information about their rights, and their students' rights, to use copyrighted works, the report says. They also face complex and often overly constrictive copyright policies in their own institutions. As a result, they use less effective teaching techniques, teach and transmit false copyright information, and do not take advantage of new digital platforms for their instruction.
- "This is not only unfortunate but unnecessary, since copyright law permits a wide range of uses of copyrighted material without permission or payment," the report says. "Educational exemptions sit within a far broader landscape of 'fair use.' However, educators today have no shared understanding of what constitutes fair-use practices."
- In layman's terms, fair use is "a statutory exemption to the rights of copyright owners," says Kenneth Crews, a legal scholar at the Indiana University School of Law in Indianapolis. There are four key factors that help decide whether use of copyrighted material constitutes fair use, he said: (1) the purpose of your use, (2) the nature of the work, (3) the amount you're using, and (4) the effect of your use on the market.
[edit] The Problem
Fair use is a complex legal issue. Moreover, we live in a litigious time. Thus, many people are fearful of the possibility of being sued, and many people sue for a wide variety of reasons.
Fair use is, of course, related to intellectual property law. Quoting from the Wikipedia:
- In law, intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for various legal entitlements which attach to certain names, written and recorded media, and inventions. The holders of these legal entitlements may exercise various exclusive rights in relation to the subject matter of the IP. The term intellectual property reflects the idea that this subject matter is the product of the mind or the intellect. The term implies that intellectual works are analogous to physical property and is consequently a matter of some controversy.
- Intellectual property laws and enforcement vary widely from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. There are inter-governmental efforts to harmonise them through international treaties such as the 1994 World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs), while other treaties may facilitate registration in more than one jurisdiction at a time. Disagreements over medical and software patents and the severity of copyright enforcement have so far prevented consensus on a cohesive international system.
[edit] Simple Answers
There are many documents that list relatively simple guidelines about fair use of copyright materials. There typically come with a warning that these guidelines are not guaranteed to protect a user from being sued. However, such guidelines are quite useful and help to reduce the stress on teachers and students who want to make educational use of copyright materials.
Here is an example quoted from a University of Maryland University College document:
- The copyright protections that we normally associate with print also govern the use of audio, video, images, and text on the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). The intuitive interface of the WWW makes it easy for the computer user to copy and use images, text, video and other graphics that are likely to be protected by copyright. A document may be copyrighted even if it does not explicitly state that it is copyrighted. As a result, it is a good idea to assume materials such as documents, images, or video clips are copyrighted. Educators can avoid copyright violations and legally use copyrighted materials if they understand and comply with the fair use guidelines. If you believe, after you review this document, that your proposed use does not comply with fair use guidelines, you always have the option to ask for permission from the copyright holder.
- …
- Student Guidelines
- Students may incorporate portions of copyrighted materials when producing a project for a specific course.
- Students may perform and display their own projects and use them in their portfolio or use the project for job interviews or as supporting materials for application to graduate school.
- Faculty Guidelines
- Faculty may include portions of copyrighted works when producing their own multimedia project for their teaching in support of curriculum-based instructional activities at educational institutions.
- Faculty may use their project for:
- assignments for student self-study
- for remote instruction provided the network is secure and is designed to prevent unlawful copying
- for conferences, presentations, or workshops
- for their professional portfolio
- Time Restrictions
- The fair use of copyrighted material in multimedia projects lasts for two years only. After two years, obtain permission before using the project again.
In all cases, there are restrictions on how much of a copyrighted piece of intellectual property may be copied under fair use laws. The article provides guidelines on this aspect of making use of copyrighted materials.
[edit] References
Hobbs, R,. Jaszi, P., and Aufderheide, P. (September 2007). The cost of copyright confusion for Media Literacy. American University Center for Social Media. Retrieved 10/9/07: http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/files/pdf/Final_CSM_copyright_report.pdf. This is a 17 page research report.
Stanford University Libraries (2003). Copyright and fair use overview. Retrieved 10/9/07: http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/index.html.
Wikipedia (n.d.). Fair use. Retrieved 10/9/07: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use.
