Body
Summary
Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. This article outlines definitions and their applications within a teaching setting.
Information Applies to
Faculty, Staff, Current Students, New Students
Definitions
What is Copyright?
Copyright is a type of intellectual property that protects original works of authorship as soon as an author fixes the work in a tangible form of expression. In copyright law, there are a lot of different types of works, including paintings, photographs, illustrations, musical compositions, sound recordings, computer programs, books, poems, blog posts, movies, architectural works, plays, and much more (copyright.gov).
Original Works: independently created (not copied) by a human author and have a minimal degree of creativity.
Fixed Works: captured in a sufficiently permanent medium, such as a writing.
Copyright protects expression, not ideas, methods, processes, or discoveries.
U.S. copyright law provides copyright owners with the following exclusive rights (copyright.gov):
- Reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords.
- Prepare derivative works based upon the work.
- Distribute copies or phonorecords of the work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership or by rental, lease, or lending.
- Perform the work publicly if it is a literary, musical, dramatic, or choreographic work; a pantomime; or a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
- Display the work publicly if it is a literary, musical, dramatic, or choreographic work; a pantomime; or a pictorial, graphic, or sculptural work. This right also applies to the individual images of a motion picture or other audiovisual work.
- Perform the work publicly by means of a digital audio transmission if the work is a sound recording.
Copyright also provides the owner of copyright the right to authorize others to exercise these exclusive rights, subject to certain statutory limitations.
What is Fair Use?
Fair Use is any copying of copyrighted material done for a limited and “transformative” purpose, such as to comment upon, criticize, or parody a copyrighted work (Stanford.edu). Fair use is a defense against copyright violation.
Commentary and Criticism: reproduction of a portion of the original work is permissible for the purpose of commentary or critique.
Parody: work that imitates or ridicules an original work.
There are four factors considered in a fair use case:
- the purpose and character of your use
- the nature of the copyrighted work
- the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
- the effect of the use upon the potential market
Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom
Minnesota State has drafted guidelines for determining whether something is protected and whether it can be used for educational purposes. For specific details and circumstances (music, software, performance, trademarked work), visit the MinnState Copyright site.
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A single copy of a work may be made of any of the following by or for a faculty member at his or her individual request for research or for teaching or preparing to teach a class: a single chapter, an article, a short story/poem/essay, or chart/graph/diagram/picture.
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Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the faculty member giving the course for classroom use or discussion provided that: The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity; The copying meets the cumulative effect test; and Each copy includes a notice of copyright.
- Unless a work falls within one of the exceptions above, or the intended use of a work constitutes "fair use", no Minnesota State Colleges and Universities faculty member or staff person shall use or make photocopies and other reproductions of copyrighted works unless specific permission has been obtained from the copyright owner.
Learn More
Need additional information or assistance? Contact WSU TLT by email, phone (507.457.5240, option 3), or Zoom.