RE: tictech: Copyright and the rights of teachers and students

From: Hand, Tony (tghand@seattleschools.org)
Date: Tue Jan 21 2003 - 10:14:51 PST

  • Next message: Johnson-Palmer, Janice: "RE: tictech: Copyright and the rights of teachers and students"

    -tictech message:

    Dear Folks,

    I agree with Graham's opinion that the RIAA has been heavy-handed in
    promoting their cause. The MPAA is even worse, when it pushes for hardware
    devices inserted into our personal equipment to prevent copying - (IMO).

    The bottom line for us however, is that what we do in schools has to be
    legal. Much of what people want to use music for in video production is for
    classroom use rather than for broadcasting, public streaming or download, or
    profit. Other multimedia and even text, would seem to present similar
    questions.

    After reveiwing Graham's resources below (please check them out) which
    suggest that Fair Use statutes may apply to teaching and education in a
    number of situations, I am less clear than ever about legal restrictions on
    using copyrighted material in classrooms. Could someone out there in IS or
    IT-land, determine for us what is actually legal to use in both sitations:
    classroom presentations, and broadcasting or web-based download and
    streaming??

    Below find an excerpt from the Consortium for Educational Technology in
    University Systems source cited by Graham, which appears to touch on some of
    these issues.

    ============================================================================
    =========================
    Fair Use of Copyrighted Works
    A Crucial Element in Educating America
    Consortium for Educational Technology in University Systems
    http://www.cetus.org/fairindex.html

    "Multimedia Production/Student
    Students in the Twentieth Century U.S. History course are asked to create an
    "electronic term paper" using lawfully acquired resources from the
    institution's library and media center. While doing research, he finds a
    book with just the information he needs and photocopies the bibliography and
    several pages of images and text. He takes the photocopies to the student
    computer lab and scans the material into his electronic term paper.

    Analysis
    Multimedia production in the hands of students solely for an individual term
    project will more easily pass fair-use scrutiny. If the use is limited to
    the one-time project, the student can easily argue that the purpose is
    solely educational. Short clips of non-fiction works may also receive
    favorable treatment under the "nature" and "amount" factors.

    Moreover, because the work is for one-time use only, and not for further
    reproduction, broadcast, or other dissemination, the copyright owners of the
    materials are not likely to find a market for licensing under these
    circumstances. Thus, the isolated individual uses may have no significant
    adverse effect on the market.

    Downloading or Printing a Document from the Internet
    A professor is conducting research by finding materials on the Internet and
    locates a report that is directly relevant to his current study. The
    document was made available on the Internet with the copyright owner's
    permission, and the professor had lawful access to it. For research purposes
    only, the professor wants to download a copy of the document to a computer
    disk or print a copy on the attached printer.

    Analysis
    The Internet provides access to a wealth of original material and, although
    it is freely and easily accessible, we must assume that original materials
    on the Internet are protected by copyright until we learn explicitly that
    the copyright owner has dedicated the materials to the public domain, or the
    copyrights have expired. Therefore, the fair-use limits for materials found
    on the Internet are essentially the same as the fair use of materials
    disseminated by any other means.

    Single copies of short items for a person's own study may fall within fair
    use. If a work is freely available on the Internet, making a copy will have
    little or no effect on its market simply because no commercial market for
    the work has been established or claimed. Nevertheless, some publishers have
    argued that the potential market for charging Internet users for each copy
    means that any copying hinders the market. In the meantime, copying of works
    that are freely accessible to the public for personal uses only will likely
    satisfy the "purpose" and the "effect" factors of fair use.

    As with photocopying, one might reasonably conclude that the "nature" factor
    would favor uses of non-fiction rather than fiction, and that the "amount"
    factor might reasonably favor copying excerpts of longer works or copying
    short essays or articles rather than copying an entire book or other longer
    piece."

    ============================================================================
    =============================

    Thanks,
    Tony
    Tech Coordinator
    Nathan Hale High School
    tghand@seattleschools.org

    -----Original Message-----
    From: Graham Ford [mailto:fordgj@u.washington.edu]
    Sent: Monday, January 20, 2003 11:07 PM
    To: TicTech
    Subject: tictech: Copyright and the rights of teachers and students

    -tictech message:

    The other day at the ET meeting there was discussion of the use of
    commercially distributed music in a first grade science project. What
    struck me was the concern expressed at the use of the music in such a
    project. I don't believe that there is any legal basis for teachers or
    students to seek permission for such use as long as the final product will
    not be sold. This is based upon my own research and experience, and
    discussions I have had with other educators. In particular, I discussed the
    matter with an old teacher of mine who has taught a video production class
    for about twenty years. The show is called ONN, Olympia News Network. Here
    is a quote from my teacher:

    > łOne reason why I've always shied away from doing any
    > sort of selling of ONNs or a video annual, etc. is that I would want to
    use
    > music that kids currently relate to, and I wouldn't be able to use any
    music
    > except self composed and played, or music sold for license-free for profit
    > productions.˛

    ONN is broadcast weekly on public access television in Thurston County.
    Additionally, it is available on the Internet at
    http://kids.osd.wednet.edu/ohs/ (at least, it will be when I get down there
    to fix their streaming server).

    I think that a lot of our concerns are based upon the scare tactics used by
    the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) and MPAA (Motion
    Picture Association of America), which currently seek to impose morality
    using Digital Rights Management and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
    The problem is, if we can't copy music for illegally, then we can't copy
    music for legal purposes; the consequence is the subversion of our rights.

    Here is section 107 of Chapter 1 of Title 17 of the US Code:

    > § 107. Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use
    >
    > 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.

    (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107)

    Number 3 above differentiates between downloading from a peer-to-peer
    services such as Napster and using a U2 song in the soundtrack for a high
    school news show. The first graders' project used only small portions of
    the music. Moreover, it is obvious that distribution of their work is not
    going to affect the market value of the music it uses.

    Admittedly, the laws are complicated and I am no lawyer, but this has been
    addressed by other educational institutions. Here are some examples of
    guidelines written by/for higher education:

    Stanford University Libraries:
    http://www-sul.stanford.edu/cpyright.html
    http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

    Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems:
    http://www.cetus.org/fairindex.html

    Another good source is the Electronic Frontier Foundation:
    http://www.eff.org/IP/eff_fair_use_faq.html
    http://www.eff.org/cafe/gross1.html

    In reading the above sources, it becomes clear that as long as certain
    standards are met, fair use applies. Have your students cite the work just
    as they would in a bibliography. I think that this is a good lesson for
    students. So often we are encouraged to make sure our students know that
    copying music is illegal, but they should understand rights of the public
    and the freedoms they are granted. The RIAA and MPAA would have us believe
    otherwise, but copyright law swings both ways. I know that I am more aware
    of my rights because my teacher talked to me about it.

    Regards,
    Graham Ford

    Network Administrator
    Highland Park Elementary
    gjford@seattleschools.org

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