Copyright and Fair Use

Megan Taylor
ITEC 7445
Spring 2015

What Are They?

Copyright
Protects most material in fixed
format, such as: words, pictures,
movies
Lasts 70+ years
Does not require formal registration
in order to receive protection
Does not cover: ideas, facts, works of
U.S. Government, compilations that
are uncreative

Fair Use
Allows the author creative work
Is copying of copyrighted material
that is done for a limited purpose,
such as: to critique, to comment;
these can be done without permission
Intends to balance the interest of the
public and the property of copyright
holders

More on Copyright
Copyright:
Was created long before the Internet
Makes it legally difficult to perform actions that we take for granted on
the network, such as copy and paste
Has a default setting that permission is required to use material
Needs a balance achieve the reality of balancing the copyright laws fair
use

More on Fair Use

In order to determine if a use is fair, the Copyright Act looks
at 4 factors to see if they are balanced and weighs in or
against favor of Fair Use:

Purpose and Character of Use

Nature of Copyrighted Work
Amount and Substantiality of Portion Used
Effect on Market for Original

Use of Video
Teachers often use videos in the classroom to engage
students, teach concepts, show applications, and
differentiate lessons. Therefore, it is important to
know how to use it appropriately as educators and
also to inform our students if they were to use videos
in a assignment or project.
This can include, but is not limited to:
VHSs
DVDs
Internet Clips
QuickTime Movies

Use of Videocontd.
Teachers can use this
material:

Students can use this

material:

In the classroom for teaching

material
When making copies for
archival purposes
When making copies in order
to replace lost, damaged, or
stolen material

When it is lawfully acquired

copyright works in their
academic multimedia which
means 10% or 3 minutes of
motion media

Use of Videocontd.
Teachers and Students need to use caution:
That the material is acquired legitimately (legal copy, not bootleg or home
video)
That the material is used in a classroom environment where instruction is
face-to-face
To ensure the use is instructional and not for entertainment purposes
To ensure copyright works give reference to copyright holder in
multimedia projects.

Discussion Questions
1. You assign your students a project that must be done in
the form of a multimedia presentation. What are key factors
on which to inform them so that their presentation meets
standards of copyright and fair use?
Make sure students know the material should be used strictly for educational
purposes and not thrown in as a joke. The material can not be used as an
advertisement for their favorite brand.
2. Your students are obsessed with the trending, original
YouTube series, CaptainSparklez. How can you have them
incorporate these videos into an educational assignment for
Literature class while following all standards?
Students could create a parody of the videos and compare it to the real series.
They could stop at different parts of the series and analyze and critique the
plotline. The students could create an art project featuring the main
characters of the series.

Discussion Questions
3. If you have an original idea that pops into your head, is it
going to be automatically copyrighted?
No, only forms of expression that are tangible are copyrightable. This
includes material like books, plays, and film. As soon as your idea is in a fixed
form, it is only then that this original work is automatically copyrightable.