Copyright and Digital Media

The Internet has made digital media accessible and easier to copy.  This increase in accessibility often leads to questions about what files may be used freely on websites.  Designed for the CEHD website administrator and editor, this workshop will explore copyright and fair use in relation to digital media used on websites.  Participants will look at sources of images, music, and video files that they can use on their websites without violating copyright law.

5 tips for CEHD Faculty and Staff:

1. If using a video on your website from a video service (e.g., YouTube or TeacherTube), embed the video rather than download it. This allows the video to remain on the service’s server, prevents accusations of copyright infringement, and saves space on your website’s server.
2. When searching for images or videos that you can use on your website, set Google’s advanced search parameters to filter usage rights that are “free to use or share, even commercially.”
3. Assume that all media is copyrighted.  If you do not know whether you have the right to use media on your website, ask the creator of the work for permission, send an inquiry to the webmaster, or read any disclaimers associated with the media.  Most media created today is copyrighted for the author’s lifetime plus 70 years.
4. Although fair use permits the use of copyrighted works under certain conditions, to avoid copyright infringement, always seek permission from the work’s creator.  This applies even if the work is on a password-protected course management system (e.g., Canvas, Sakai).
5. The College of Education and Human Development maintains a gallery of images highlighting CEHD people, places, and events for you to use on your website or in other promotional materials.

What is copyright? – rights of intellectual property owners and rights of users

• What’s not copyrighted
  • ideas
  • facts
  • recipes
  • government materials
• Copyright Registration for Online Works

Public Domain – ineligible for copyright or expired copyright

• Copyright Duration Chart
• Copyright Term Extension Act

What is Fair Use? – allows for limited use of material without asking for permission

• Commentary
• Parody
• News Reporting
• Scholarly Research
• Education

Guidelines from Copyright Law – have to weigh all four

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is commercial in nature or it is for nonprofit educational purposes – non-profit vs. commercial
• the nature of the copyrighted work – fact vs. fiction
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole – small vs. large portions
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Revenue vs. no revenue.

The fact that a work is unpublished does not bar a finding of fair use if all the above factors are considered.

Limitations

Digital Millennium Copyright Act – 1998

• Who knows?

Websites

• UD Video Release – used for UD Capture and other campus videos

Images

• Public Domain Images
• Creative Commons
• Freerange
• Microsoft Guidelines for Use of Copyrighted Content

Video

• YouTube and Teacher Tube– embed
• FedFlix on Internet Archive
• Check links regularly
  • Broken link checker – WordPress plugins are available as well
• NASA

Resources

• IT copyright information for students
• University of Delaware Intellectual Property Guide
• Examples of fair use
• Measuring Fair Use
• Websites: Five Ways to Stay out of Trouble
• Copyright Basics – video from Copyright Clearance Center
• Copyright on Campus – video from Copyright Clearance Center