COPYRIGHT RESOURCES

Important Information

• Sacramento State Library's Copyright Resources
  Here you'll find an extensive list of resources to help you learn about copyrights and to determine who owns copyrighted material created at the University.

• The TEACH Toolkit
  This easy-to-use site will help you better understand copyright and fair use as it applies to distance education.

• Copyright Management Center: Indiana University-Purdue University - Indianapolis [iupui.edu]
  The IUPUI site provides Fair Use guidelines for photocopying, allowed uses of music, video tapes and software, electronic reserves, distance learning, and multimedia in higher education. Information on seeking permissions to use copyrighted materials and explanations on copyright ownership are included.

• Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials [The University of Texas System]
  The University of Texas System site on fair use is an excellent place to start. Learn about individual liability, off-site copy shops and guidelines for multimedia/music/research. Click on the Four-Factor Test that outlines a “safe harbor” within which to make choices about using others’ materials.

The Law

• The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) [U.S. Government]
  The 1998 act implements WIPO Geneva treaties. Among the DMCA’s provisions are limitations on liability for (university) service providers, allowances for works or performances to be transmitted through distance education courses, prevention of the utilization of circumventing measures to access copyrighted works, and a requirement of member countries to provide copyright protection for works from other countries.

• Fair Use [U.S. Government]
  United States Copyright Office Web site – Fair Use is established in U.S. Code, Title 17, Section 107: “…the fair use of a copyrighted work…for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” Four factors shall be considered in determining if a use is “fair.”

• The TEACH Act [American Library Association]
  The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act), signed into law in November 2002, allows copyright-protected materials to be digitized and used in distance education providing specific requirements are met. Apply the Checklist for Compliance with the TEACH Act [iupui.edu] to materials being considered for use.

• The United States Copyright Office summary document [U.S. Copyright Office]
  A twelve-page PDF summary of copyright basics explaining what copyright is, who can claim it, what works are protected and more.

Additional Resources

• Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. [copyright.com]
  A service that does the work of seeking permissions to reproduce copyrighted content of journal articles, photocopies, book chapters, library reserves, and coursepacks in both print and digital media.

• Copyright Law & Graduate Research [ProQuest]
  An online manual, written by Kenneth Crews of IUPUI, addressing the issue of copyright from an educator and graduate researcher point of view. The Preface contains an understandable explanation of the complicated issues involved in copyright.