Copyright permissions for online educators is critical as the Internet provides better and quicker access to materials that may or may not be copyright protected. In your quest to provide innovative learning materials, fear of copyright infringement can be a limiting factor. Even with the best of intentions, educators make mistakes or overlook areas where intellectual property laws have claim. This is important for the user and for the creator. Some artists openly provide their materials in a free-to-use creative commons license, others have registered copyrights that require permissions before you can use them. This is often called “licensing” the work (Stim, 2010). The whole process becomes a large gray area, as copyright laws have changed over the years. Educators must identify if a work is in the public domain, copyright-protected and whether they can apply the “fair use” or “Teach Act” stipulations. If in question, it is best to assume the work is copyright-protected and request permission for use.
First, perform a due diligence to determine if the work is (1) copyright-protected, (2) in the public domain, or (3) under a creative commons license. Follow the chart for copyright permissions and to determine if it is in the public domain.
Second, if the work is copyright-protected, consider if it falls under “fair use” or the “Teach Act”
Third, if you need permission, contact the legal owner.
Fourth, get permission in writing and pay fees if needed.
Copyright Permissions ©
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Date of first publication
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Copyright Protected?
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Before 1923
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No, in Public Domain
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1923 to 1977, no © symbol
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No, in Public Domain
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1923 to 1963, © symbol, but not renewed after 28 years
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No, in Public Domain
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1923 to 1963, © symbol and renewed after 28 years
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Maybe, protected for 95 years from publication
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1964 to 1977, © symbol
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Maybe, protected for 95 years from publication
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1978 to 2002
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Maybe, protected during life of author plus 70 years or 120 years if corp.
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1978 to before March 1, 1989, no © symbol or subsequent registration
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No, in Public Domain
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1978 to before March 1, 1989, © symbol or no © symbol but registered within 5 years
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Maybe, protected 70 years after death of author or 120 years if corp.
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March 1, 1989 on, © symbol or not
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Maybe, protected 70 years after death of author or 120 years if corp.
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Additional Copyright Helps:
- The American Library Association and Michael Brewer provide one method of determining if you can use material.
- Stanford Copyright Renewal Database is a searchable source on copyrights that may have been renewed.
- Copyright Navigator
The Creative Commons Licenses
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| Image via CrunchBase |
Check the work you wish to use for a Creative Commons license, which is one of the newer ways to identify works and the specific requirements to re-use them. For help in identifying the terms, check the Creative Commons website.
Fair Use
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Factor
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Fair Use
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Unlikely Fair Use
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Factor 1
The Purpose and character
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Nonprofit
Education
Research
Scholarship
Transformative: commentary, news reporting, criticism, parody
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Commercial for profit
Same purpose as original (not transformative)
Entertainment (not parody)
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Factor2
The Nature of copyright-protected work
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Work is fact or nonfiction
Hyperlinks
Published work
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Original has strong creative copyright
Not published
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Factor 3
The amount in proportion to whole work
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Small amount used
Portion used not key to work
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Large amount
The heart of the work
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Factor 4
Market Effect
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No negative or positive market effects
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Effects market
Appeals to same monetary market
Work is made global
License fee could have been paid
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The Teach Act
- You must be an accredited nonprofit education institution or government
- You may perform a non-dramatic literary or musical work, or reasonable portions of any work
- You may display any work in the amount comparable to a live classroom setting
- Transmission must be under the actual supervision of an instructor as part of a class session
- The work must be part of systematic mediated instructional activities and related to teaching content
- You may digitize an analog work if not digital copy available
- The transmission must be limited to the students enrolled in the course
- You must use measures to prevent retention such as printing, saving, downloading
- You must not interfere with technological measures that prevent retention and dissemination put in place by copyright holder
Additional Teach Act Helps:
How to Get Copyright Permissions
If the copyright-protected work you want to use does not fall under the safety of “fair use” or The Teach Act, you need to get permission. First, identify the owner, which is not always clearly stated, and can include multiple owners. For a photograph or graphic on the Internet, contact the author for permission.
Sources to Contact for Permissions
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Media
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Contacts
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Photos and graphics
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Photographer, creator, website owner, gallery, museum
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Film, video
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Producer, distributor, actors, directors, screenwriters, Production company
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Music and audio
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Composer, musician, lyricist, recording company, licensing companies
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Books, articles, journals, online blogs, text, websites
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Writers, publishers, website owners, distributors
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Determine the Rights You Need
Time Frame
Ask for Permission in Writing
Include the reason for use, where you will use it, and ask for permission. This can be done in an email or by post. If a work has multiple copyright owners, you must contact and get permission from all of them. Try to be as specific as possible about the use of the work you are requesting. If you plan to gain any monetary benefits from usage, be sure to include this information.
Sources of sample permission letters:
- University of California Permission Letter Samples
- Columbia University Permission Letter Samples
- Duke University Permission Sample Letters
A sample letter is noted here:
Copyright Fees
