Copyright Guidelines for Teachers and Administrators?   

The resources below were designed to help education leaders to better understand what they may do under the law. These documents are used with permission.

	Part One (PDF, 2,707 K): Copyright Primer for Administrators Five Steps to Avoiding Copyright Problems Quick Quiz
	Part Two (PDF, 634 K): Chart: Copyright Guidelines for Administrators
Used with permission from Technology & Learning magazine.

What do other institutions say about copyright issues?   

	Stanford University's Copyright & Fair Use site covers the following: Primary Materials Copyright & Fair Use Overview Copyright & Fair Use Guide Key Copyright Sites Current Issues & Legislation Resources for Librarians Commentary & Analysis
	Indiana University's Copyright Management Center covers the following: Copyright Quick Guide Fair Use Issues Permissions Information Copyright Ownership Future Developments

Education and Fair Use?   

According to the Indiana University's Copyright Management Center (CMC), "Fair use may not be what you expect. Therefore, do not assume that a nonprofit, educational use or giving credit for the source of the work, or that limiting access to materials to students in the class creates an inherent fair use. Fair use depends on a balancing of four factors, which may be addressed by a variety of means. The four factors are:"


1. Purpose of the Use
2. Nature of the Work
3. Amount of the Work Used
4. Effect of the Use on the Market for the Original

How does the TEACH Act Affect Distance Education?

The TEACH Act, which became law in November 2002, says it is not copyright infringement for teachers and students at an accredited, nonprofit educational institution to transmit performances and displays of copyrighted works as part of a course if certain conditions are met. If these conditions are not or cannot be met, use of the material will have to qualify as a fair use or permission from the copyright holder(s) must be obtained.

	American Library Association's Distance Education and TEACH Act covers the following: Legislative History New Copyright Law for Distance Education: The Meaning and Importance of the TEACH Act Related Files

Ever Heard of Creative Commons?

One of the newest resources on the Web is the idea of "some rights reserved."

Creative Commons uses private rights to create public goods: creative works set free for certain uses. Like the free software and open-source movements, Creative Commons' ends are cooperative and community-minded, but their means are voluntary and libertarian. They work to offer creators a best-of-both-worlds way to protect their works while encouraging certain uses of them — to declare "some rights reserved."


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