Faculty Resource Guide

Copyright is a set of laws that protects literary and artistic works and it is apart of daily life.  Generally, once an artistic or literary work is created it has copyright protection. Some countries like the US requires that the work is put into a tangible medium like into a song, novel, movie, etc. before it is given copyright protection. Copyright protection lasts a long time, it lasts the life of the creator plus 70 years.

Some examples would include:

• Literary works
• Musical works
• Artistic works or works of visual art
• Dramatic works
• Cinematographic works (including audiovisual works)
• Translations, adaptations, arrangements of literary and artistic works
• Collections of literary and artistic works,
• Databases
• Computer software

Not everything is copyrightable, specifically facts and ideas are not. Not one creator can own a fact or an idea, the creator however can own the expression of that fact or idea.

Copyright is also a type of intellectual property. Intellectual property is a a set of rights that allow creators to regulate their works and these rights are established by laws. There are several other types of intellectual properties, some you may know such as Patents and Trademarks. Those are NOT copyright, but they all have a part in protecting intellectual property.

"2.1 Copyright Basics" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Some other things to keep in mind for copyrighted materials:

• If you reproduce, republish or redistribute something produced by someone else without the copyright holder’s permission, there’s a good chance that you are violating copyright law. 
• Publicly available information such as material posted on the Internet is not necessarily free from copyright protection. 
• If using a copyrighted work for an extended period of time or frequently pulling information from the same source, you or our library should purchase the item.  Library owned material can be used as often as needed for classroom/online teaching
• Copyright infringement can result in fines and jail time. 
• The Copyright Act includes specific provisions for the use of copyright-protected materials by academic institutions.

Learn more @ Copyright.gov

Review Mercy College of Ohio's Copyright Policy below.

There are several purposes to copyright. The main purpose is to protect and give creators certain rights to their created works, rights such as ownership, control over use and distribution of their works. There are two rationales that break down the other purposes of copyright, those two rationales are Utilitarian and Author's Rights. Many countries use parts of both rationales in their copyright laws.

Utilitarian rationale helps encourage creators to create works either by social gains like receiving money or fame. 

Author’s Rights rationale protects and recognizes the connection between the creator and their work. It also ensures that credit is given to the creator and that the integrity of the work is preserved.

"2.1 Copyright Basics" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Copyright laws are not black and white, there are limits and exceptions to copyright. Some examples of those exceptions and limitations include:

• Right to quote: which can include criticism, commentary, or illustrate a point
• Educational activities  
  • See Fair Use tab for more info.
• Libraries, archives and museums: to preserve or provide access to knowledge and information 
• Provide access to materials for people with disabilities: such as making something accessible for screen readers, changing the format to brail or audio, etc. 
• Parodies
• And more!

Principal of Territory applies to copyright and it's limitations and exceptions. This means that it depends on the location of where the copyright work is being used. The rules of that country where the copyrighted work is being used are followed, same with the exceptions and limitations.

There are two ways that countries can include exceptions and into their copyright laws:

1. Listing specific activities, the country can list out specifically what is allowed.
2. Include flexible guidelines and then use the court to decide if the use of work went against copyright or not. This is what the US uses and this way includes Fair Use. See the Fair Use tab for more information!

"2.4 Exceptions and Limitations to Copyright" by Creative Commons is licensed under CC BY 4.0

• Providing a link to the electronic resource is the safest way to avoid licensing infringement.  
• A single photocopy can be “checked-out” to individuals to photocopy. Materials placed on traditional reserve are available in paper form. You can place purchased materials on reserve without obtaining copyright permission. However, making multiple copies of these materials and placing those copies on reserve does require copyright permission.  

​Permission

• The reason you will be using the material.
• Why you will be using it. Let the copyright holder know you will be using it for educational use. 
• Provide the beginning and ending dates you will be using the item. 
• Describe your audience.
• Ensure the copyright holder you will not be using their work for profit.