What can I do with ...
| TYPE | FACE TO FACE | ONLINE |
|---|---|---|
| Article |
If the Library has an electronic version of the article, use a permanent link to the article (eg. in your Canvas and/or your syllabus). If the article is available legally on the web, link to the article. If not, you will need to conduct a fair use analysis before scanning or copying the article for your class. |
If the Library has an electronic version of the article, use a permanent link to the article (eg. in your Canvas and/or your syllabus). If the article is available legally on the web, link to the article. If not, you will need to conduct a fair use analysis before scanning or copying the article for your class. |
| Chapter from a book |
Place print copy of a book on reserve at the library. If the Library has the ebook, put a permanent link to the ebook in your readings list. If not, you will need to conduct a fair use analysis before scanning or copying the chapter for your class. |
If the Library has the ebook, put a permanent link to the ebook in your Canvas. If not, you will need to conduct a fair use analysis before scanning or copying the chapter for your class. |
| YouTube | Linking to a YouTube video is permitted. If embedding code is provided, it is fine to embed. Be sure to attribute the creator. Avoid any video that you suspect is not a legal copy, not least because it could be taken down by YouTube at any time. | Linking to a YouTube video is permitted. If embedding code is provided, it is fine to embed. Be sure to attribute the creator. Avoid any video that you suspect is not a legal copy, not least because it could be taken down by YouTube at any time. |
| DVD |
The Classroom exception permits you to show DVDs without limitation, provided that the DVD is legally made and acquired. If the Library has the DVD or you'd like it purchased for the collection, please complete the Purchase Request form.
|
Streaming a DVD in an online class will need to be permitted by the TEACH Act or be a fair use. The TEACH Act specifically forbids copying an entire DVD. Fair use could conceivably permit it but a very rigorous analysis and justification would need to be provided. Portions necessary to serve your pedagogical purpose may be streamed to students. You will need to think through your purposes for including the content from the DVD and limit your use to only the necessary portions. To request that a DVD be converted to streaming for these purposes, please complete the Media Conversion Request form. DVDs can also be converted and captioned to accommodate a disability. If the Library has the DVD or you'd like it purchased for the collection, please complete the Purchase Request form. The TEACH Act specifically allows: "The performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or reasonable and limited portions of any other work”; the DVD must be a legal copy and the content cannot be mediated educational programming. ...as long as, “The performance or display is made by, at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic mediated instructional activities.“ |
| SFCC Library-licensed streaming content | Yes! SFCC has licensed streaming video content you can embed in your classes. | Yes! SFCC has licensed streaming video content you can embed in your classes. |
| Streaming from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. | No. Generally subscription streaming services' Terms of Use specify personal use only. | Students must use their own personal subscriptions to these services. |
| Images |
Showing legally acquired images in the classroom is permitted. If you post a slide deck to Canvas consider removing any copyrighted material unless you have done a fair use analysis and determined that it is likely to be fair. Consider using the Library's licensed content or Creative Commons licensed content from the web. |
Creative Commons licensed, public domain, or library-licensed material can be used. Otherwise, you will need to conduct a fair use analysis. |
| Figures, charts, graphs | Permissible to use, with attribution. | Permissible to use, with attribution. If the chart or graph is creative in it's display of information (as opposed to something that anyone could reproduce exactly given the same data), conduct a fair use analysis. |
| Music from a CD | Okay to use. | See "DVD" above. |
| Live music performance | Yes, permitted by the classroom exemption. | N/A |
| Sending content via email | It is better to send a link than to send an attachment. Much of the details listed above for posting things online will be similar with email but posting online on Canvas will make any fair use argument stronger. | It is better to send a link than to send an attachment. Much of the details listed above for posting things online will be similar with email but posting online on Canvas will make any fair use argument stronger. |
| Student work | Get permission from the student in writing and keep that documentation. Both copyright and FERPA apply. | Get permission from the student in writing and keep that documentation. Both copyright and FERPA apply. |
Using Copyrighted Materials
When trying to determine if you can use
given material, try to think systematically about your use, the copyright status of the material you want to use, and the exceptions to the copyright law that might apply to your situation.
Start any analysis with two very basic questions:
- Does my use exercise one of the exclusive rights of copyright? If not, copyright doesn't come into. For example, if you are simply linking to legal material available freely on the web or in a licensed library database.
- Is the material I want to use covered by copyright? Most material is but if the material is in the public domain, belongs in a category unprotected by copyright as described above, or was produced by the Federal government, you are probably clear to use it.
Once you have determined that copyright will come into play, figure out if your use is permitted by an existing exception (like fair use, the Classroom Use Exception, or the TEACH Act). If so, you can use it legally. When thinking about these exceptions it can be useful to keep in mind that in the face-to-face classroom the two exceptions that are likely to apply are the Classroom Use Exception and fair use. In the online classroom, most often you will be looking to fair use, though in some cases the TEACH Act will apply.
If you have determined that your use would exercise one of the exclusive rights of copyright, the work is copyrightable and still under copyright and no exception applies to your use, at that point you will need to seek permission.
Copyright Information
Spokane Falls Community College Library is grateful to Rachel Bridgewater at Portland Community College, who created the original resource that this guide is adapted from.
"Copyright Resources" by Rachel Bridgewater, Portland Community College is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0