Copyright & Education

Copyright is an important issue that concerns faculty, librarians, and students. Individuals are responsible for complying with PCCC’s institutional copyright policy. While this guide makes information on copyright available, it  does not provide legal advice.

In addition to this guide, librarians and administrators at PCCC are here to assist the College community with course-related copyright questions. Please contact a librarian for general copyright advisement; Luis Ruiz [email protected] (x5877) about putting course items on reserve in the library; Elizabeth Pachella [email protected] (x5880) with copyright questions regarding online courses and Blackboard.

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PCCC Copyright Policy

It is the policy of Passaic County Community College to comply with the provisions of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, the Teaching, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2002, and any statutory revisions. All members associated with the College community–teachers, administrators, staff, and students–are encouraged to have a basic understanding of these federal laws and to apply them responsibly in the educational environment. This includes copying, scanning, distributing, or otherwise making available any copyrighted work in any medium.

The four evaluative factors of the “fair use” provision of U.S. Code (Title 17, §107) should serve as the primary guide in determining compliance:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work

College members are forbidden from knowingly violating federal copyright law when using copyrighted materials for any purpose associated with the College. The College will not be held legally accountable for such violations, and individuals assume all liability for infringement.

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Copyright Act of 1976

• The Copyright Act of 1976 is a significant piece of legislation designed to protect intellectual property rights while considering also the potential use of protected work by individual users and institutions. Sections 107-110 of U.S. Code Title 17 are relevant to schools and libraries.
• The “fair use” provision (§107) is the most essential guideline for instructors. It allows copyrighted content to be used to facilitate nonprofit education.
• The provision is flexible, but provides enough guidance for responsible interpretation.
• Fair use standards can be applied universally and should be considered when distributing copies of articles or book chapters, photocopying materials, downloading from web sources, or uploading content onto Blackboard, etc.
• Fair use issues have become complicated in the digital age, where work is easily reproduced, modified, and “shared.”

The “fair use” provision:

U.S. Code Title 17, §107:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

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Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998

The DMCA was incorporated into Title 17 of the U.S. Code in 1998 in the interest of extending copyright protections in the digital age. It is a somewhat controversial act, as technological controls and definitions of use have reduced flexibility.

American Library Association:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright/dmca

U.S. Copyright Office:
http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf

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TEACH Act of 2002

This act adapts the fair use concept to the online teaching environment. It is recommended that instructors at PCCC apply fair use guidelines conservatively when incorporating digital and audio-visual content into their coursework.

Instructors should be familiar with the recent Georgia State case (Cambrige University Press et al. v. Patton et al.): http://www.educause.edu/initiatives/policy-and-security/educause-policy/resources/georgia-state-copyright-case-resources

American Library Association:
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/copyright/teachact
http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=distanceed

University of Texas Libraries:
http://copyright.lib.utexas.edu/teachact.html

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