Library Workshop – Copyright in the digital age
Contact Information: | 888-628-1569
summary | This workshop will introduce students to copyrighted works, copyright law, and copyright compliance. It will provide students with information about how to secure copyright permissions for works used in their coursework and theses.
learning objectives|Upon completion of this workshop students will know how to:
- Access the Copyright and Academic Writing pages on the Library’s website
- Access the Student Copyright FAQs
- Identify copyrighted works
- Determine what action is needed to avoid copyright infringement
- Identify works that have a special type of use license
- Identify works that are not copyrighted
- research process |A thorough overview of the research process may be found on the Library’s Research Process page. Today’s workshop will correspond to the sections titled Copyright and Academic Writing.
- what is copyright? |Copyright law protects the original works of authors/creators from being unlawfully reproduced and used. Copyright law not only protects written resources but also resources such as artwork, music, video, computer programs, maps, etc.Violation of copyright law can carry severe financial, legal, and academic consequences, including academic expulsion.
- copyright in the headlines |As technology has allowed for protected works to become reproduced digitally and distributed widely, the incidence of copyright infringement has increased. Cases such as Cambridge University Press et al. v. Patton et al., better known as the Georgia State Copyright Case, highlight the prominence of this issue in colleges and universities.
- how does copyright affect me? |If you use or reproduce any part of a resource that is not your own original creation, you will need to ensure compliance with copyright law. This includes reproducing photographs, tables, charts, figures, sound files, artwork, and any other type of resource that may be useful in your research. Unless you are the creator of the original work, you should always assume that the resource is protected by copyright law until you can verify otherwise.
- how do I comply with copyright law? |When reproducing a small amount of a resource, generally you will be in compliance with copyright law by properly crediting the author or creator of an original work you are using. Northcentral University requires the use of the American Psychological Association Publication Style to document the use of and credit the work of others. When using direct quotations or paraphrasing part of an article or other resource, you will need to include an in-text citation that indicates where that information came from, as well as include a complete citation in your References List. Reproducing large portions of a work (such as using a previously published test or measurement in your dissertation), or reproducing and entire resource, may require permission from the copyright holder.
- fair use |If the work is for academic purposes, such as sharing with your class or a group, you should be familiar with Fair Use guidelines: purpose of use, the nature of the information, amount of information to be used, and the affect to a publisher's future profits.Content uploaded by faculty, staff or others to an online classroom must adhere to traditional copyright law regarding distribution to multiple students, and typically requires permission for use.
- protected works |So how do you know if the work you wish to use is copyright protected, and what should you do if you wish to reproduce the information for academic purposes? The simplest way is to check if the work is registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. However, a work need not be registered for the owner to file copyright infringement, as an original work is protected at the point of creation. In fact, the creator can register their work at any point to declare ownership and file copyright infringement against violators. As a rule of thumb, err on the side of caution. It is always best to obtain author/owner approval or purchase the work directly from the publisher or distributor unless stated otherwise. The Digital Copyright Slider is another helpful resource in determining whether or not a work is protected.
- requesting permissions |You will need to find the copyright holder’s contact information. Typically Google or another internet search engine will work well for locating this. Look for links on the website such as “Contact,” “About Us,” or “Privacy Policy,” for example. Remember, the copyright holder is not necessarily the author; it could be the publisher, distributor, estate, etc. The copyright holder may require you to pay a fee to use/reproduce the work, or the holder may simply require that you ask permission before you use/reproduce the work. You should include the written letter of permission to use the work in your final product (Appendix or other suitable area).
- creative commons | Creative Commons licenses allow creators to waive certain copyright permissions and retain other copyright permissions. Generally, creators of Creative Commons licensed resources are more open to their works being used, modified, and reproduced by others. Visit the Creative Commons website to learn about the license types, and to search for resources that are licensed under these agreements.
- public domain |Public domain works are those where the copyright was never claimed, has expired, or has been forfeited. If a resource is in the public domain it means that the resource is freely available to anyone who wants to use or reproduce it. This does not mean that you do not need to cite or credit the resource; it just means that you do not need to worry about gaining copyright permission.
- additional resources| Please visit the below links for additional information on copyright considerations.
- Student Copyright FAQs
- Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis
- Copyright on Campus Video
- The Campus Guide to Copyright
- Using Content: Course Management Systems
- Exceptions for Instructors in Copyright Law
- Model Permission Letters
- Learn the Library
quiz|Answer the questions below to reinforce what you have learned in today’s workshop.
- What is copyright and how do you identify copyrighted works?
- How do you avoid copyright infringement?
- What is Fair Use?
- How do you request permissions for use of a work or part of a work?
- What is the Creative Commons?
- What does public domain refer to?
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