COPYRIGHT POLICY
Category: Governance & Administration
Title: Copyright Policy
Table of Contents
What are the Rights of a Copyright Owner?
What is Not Eligible for Copyright?
Best Practices for Online/Correspondence Education Course Design
Streaming Video Best Practices
CONTINUING EVALUATION AND ADJUSTMENT
In our education environment and as members of the National Midwifery Institute community, we recognize the value of those rights as expressed in the copyright laws of the United States. The use of intellectual property, such as materials protected by copyright, is affected by the ownership rights in those materials. Because of advances in technology and ease to copy, transmit, distribute, adapt, display, or perform copyrighted works, individuals must increasingly be aware of various copyright implications when using a wide range of materials. Copyright violations create potential legal liability for the school and the individuals involved. Therefore, all members of the National Midwifery Institute community are expected to make a good faith effort to respect the rights of copyright owners. To support NMI’s mission to create, discover, and disseminate knowledge and to further the primary purpose of teaching and research, NMI supports the responsible, good faith exercise of the following copyright principles, guidelines, and definitions.
This policy applies school-wide, including, but not limited to, students, faculty, administrators, staff, and employees.
The Executive Director is responsible for overseeing this policy.
The terms defined under the federal copyright law, which are outlined in 17 U.S.C. § 101, control this Policy.
National Midwifery Institute students, faculty, administrators, staff, and employees must comply with the United States Copyright Law, 17 U.S.C. § 101 et seq. In short, this means that you may not make unauthorized copies or distribute, display, or perform without permission any work that is covered by copyright. A work is covered by copyright if the legal requirements for copyright have been met and the copyright term has not expired.
The requirements for obtaining copyright under current U.S. law are very minimal. A work may be protected by copyright even if it does not contain any notice of copyright. All that is required under current law is that the work displays some minimal degree of creativity and be fixed in a tangible medium of expression. In other words, unless the copyright period has expired, you should assume that a work is protected by copyright.
Because of the limitations of the copyright term, copyright has expired for any work published in the United States before January 1, 1923. For works published after that date, you should assume copyright still exists. Even for works published before that date, copyright may exist in a compilation or collection that contains the older work.
The rights of copyright are extensive, but not absolute. One of the more important limitations on copyright is the doctrine of "fair use." The principles of "fair use" authorize some uses of copyrighted works for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.
It is important to note that "fair use" implies a limited use of the copyrighted work. For example, quoting a few lines from a Bruce Springsteen song in a classroom presentation or faculty paper housed in an institutional repository commenting on the meaning of Springsteen’s lyrics may constitute fair use, whereas reproducing an appendix containing all of Springsteen’s lyrics probably would go beyond fair use. Similarly, quoting a paragraph from a scientific journal article in a PowerPoint slide discussing the topic of the article or posting the article on a password-protected course Blackboard site would probably constitute fair use, whereas reproducing the entire article and posting it to a widely available listserv may likely go beyond fair use.
The sharing of music, movie, or other copyrighted media files without permission via peer-to-peer networks or other means is never fair use. In recent years, the music and movie industries have obtained substantial verdicts against individuals who have engaged in the practice of illegal file sharing.
You should also be careful about materials available on the Internet. Merely because something is available on the Internet does not mean that it is in the public domain. In general, you should not download pictures, videos, or other files from the Internet, or copy the contents of publicly available websites, without the express permission of the owner of the material – and in any event you should avoid downloading such files, which may contain viruses and other malware. However, it is usually permissible to provide a hyperlink to a publicly available, non-password-protected website. The public availability of a website via hyperlink generally provides at least an implied license to access the site by that means.
The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.
For additional information about copyrights, see the FAQ section of the U.S. Copyright Office website.
In addition, you should be aware of the many excellent resources that are available for use under "Creative Commons" licenses. These are works for which the copyright owner has granted permission, under certain circumstances, for third party uses of the copyrighted works. The Creative Commons website contains information about what kinds of works are available as well as a searchable database of licensed works.
If you have any doubts about whether a work is covered by copyright or whether a particular use is "fair use," you should consult the Executive Director.
Following are some additional general guidelines drawn from the U.S. Copyright Office concerning the nature and limitations of copyright.
Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Copyrightable works include the following categories:
These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works;" maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."
This protection is available to both published and unpublished works.
Section 106 of the 1976 Copyright Act generally gives the owner of copyright the exclusive right to do and to authorize others to do the following:
In addition, certain authors of works of visual art have the rights of attribution and integrity as described in section 106A of the 1976 Copyright Act.
Several categories of material are generally not eligible for federal copyright protection.
These include among others:
Copyright infringement is the act of exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106 of the Copyright Act (Title 17 of the United States Code). These rights include the right to reproduce or distribute a copyrighted work. In the file-sharing context, downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement.
Examples of unlawful infringement include, but are not limited to, the following:
Anyone, including students, who illegally downloads or distributes copyrighted materials using the school’s student portal is subject to consequences outlined in the schools Acceptable Use Policy.
In addition, those who engage in the unauthorized distribution of copyrighted material, including unauthorized peer-to-peer file sharing, may be subject to civil and criminal liabilities under federal law. Actual damages or statutory damages may be assessed in a civil lawsuit, ranging between $750 to $30,000 with respect to any one work infringed, which can be increased to $150,000 if a court finds "willful" infringement, or as otherwise provided by law. The court may also assess costs and attorneys' fees in a civil lawsuit. Federal criminal penalties include imprisonment up to five years (up to ten years for certain subsequent offenses) and fines up to $250,000, or as otherwise provided by law. Such civil and criminal liabilities do not limit the University in its ability to also implement consequences for anyone found to have engaged in copyright infringement. Any such consequences are guided by the pertinent code of conduct for the specific individual, such as the Student Code of Conduct, Faculty Guide, or the Employee Handbook.
U.S. copyright law has an exception for face-to-face teaching that covers most uses of copyrighted material [17 U.S.C. §110(1)]. Depending on the material and your use, there are a number of different options for managing copyright in online courses.
Step 1: Identify the content to be used. Determine if it is copyright protected. If it is not protected, you are free to use it. If it is protected by copyright, go to Step 2.
Step 2: Look for a licensed copy (library database, legally posted on the Internet, Creative Commons). You should link to the content whenever possible to avoid creating a copy. If no licensed copy is available, go to Step 3.
Step 3: Perform a fair use analysis. Consider all four fair use factors:
1. Purpose of the use. Educational uses always weigh in favor of fair use.
2. Nature of the work. Is it factual, fictional, or highly creative?
3. Amount used. Use only the amount needed for the class.
4. Effect on the market. Are you preventing students from buying the materials?
None of the four factors alone are conclusive of a fair use determination. However, the fourth factor tends to be considered most heavily and is often the deciding factor when fair use is not found in the higher education setting. If a licensing mechanism is available, it will weigh against fair use. Supplementary readings weigh against fair use, so you should look more closely when readings are not required. Single chapters of books are typically acceptable. Does fair use apply? If yes, then you may use the content. If not, go to Step 4.
Step 4: If fair use does not apply, look for an alternative. Faculty may summarize material or use portions in class or in lectures to supplement alternative readings.
Link to licensed or free online content when available. This could include library or university licensed videos or legally posted online videos. When using commercially produced videos or clips, look for sites hosted by the copyright holder. Avoid personal YouTube or other video sites when possible because:
Avoid ripping and posting entire DVDs. This is a potential violation of the DMCA and is not protected by the TEACH Act. The safer alternative is to use smaller portions of the video or copy the video using screen capture technology, although this may still violate the DMCA because it uses technology to bypass DRM protections on the disc. If an entire video is copied for an online course, you should rely on fair use to justify inclusion of the class materials. The legality of copyright and video streaming is still very murky, and there is little guidance to rely upon. You should always consider the use that presents the least risk of a copyright violation.
NMI should retain a copy of copyrighted permissions request with the module materials they relate to in the NMI Shared Drive.
As outlined in the “Best Practices” section, guidelines for permissions requests include:
This policy is published on the NMI Policy and Procedures web page. Faculty and staff must review this policy as part of the initial and ongoing onboarding process at NMI.
Where is this policy referenced? | |
Handbooks | Faculty Handbook Employee Handbook |
Website | Policy and Procedures |
This Copyright Policy will be subject to periodic review and adjustment. Continued administration of the development, implementation, and maintenance of the plan will be the responsibility of the Executive Director who will assign specific responsibility for implementation and administration as appropriate.
The Executive Director, in consultation with others, will review the standards set forth in this policy and recommend updates and revisions as necessary.
Date | Type of Change | Updates since last Change |
September 27, 2022 | Major | Updated to new policy template. |
August 18, 2024 | Major | Added procedures around best practices for NMI staff. |
Adapted from Seton Hall University Copyright Policy
Copyright Best Practices for Online Courses
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