Copyright Guidelines
The following information is a condensed version of Copyright Guidelines for Classroom
and General University Use adopted by Colorado State University in September
1996.
For a complete guidelines packet, please contact the Office of the Vice President
for Research at (970) 491-7194.
What Is Copyright?
Copyright protects original works of authorship. The copyright holder has the exclusive
rights to:
- reproduce or copy
- produce derivative works based on the copyrighted work (right to modify)
- distribute copies of the work
- perform the work publicly
- display the work publicly
In general, before using or modifying any work, such as a portion of a book, a piece
of artwork, a design, or a computer software program, copyright issues should be
considered.
Who Owns the Copyright?
The author/creator, his or her employer, or the publisher may own the copyright.
Many publishers require authors to assign copyright to them before they will publish
it.
At a university level two situations often arise:
- The copyright works created by students are owned by the student, even if created
with University faculty/staff input or University resources. If the student's work
is reproduced, modified, or incorporated into a publication, written permission
from the student must be obtained.
- The University owns copyrights in works created with University resources by University
faculty/staff while employed by Colorado State University (see Section J of the
Faculty/Staff Manual.)
How does Copyright apply to Colorado State University faculty and staff?
Photocopying or other reproduction of copyrighted works raises important legal issues.
Even in an academic or classroom setting, the law often requires permission for
photocopying copyrighted works. The Fair Use doctrine set forth in the 1976 Copyright
Act does not apply in many instances.
Under the law, the owner of copyrighted works has the right to prevent all others
from copying or selling it. Accordingly, photocopying copyrighted works without
obtaining permissions may violate the rights of the author/creator and is directly
contrary to the academic mission to teach respect for ideas and the intellectual
property that expresses those ideas. Infringement can result in an award of money
damages against the infringing party.
Colorado State University employees have the responsibility when utilizing copyrighted
materials to determine whether their use of the copyrighted materials would violate
any copyright held by the author, or whether it would be considered fair use.
What Is Fair Use?
Basically, four factors determine fair use of copyrighted materials. They are:
- Purpose of the use - is it educational or commercial?
- The percentage of the material to be used in relation to the size of the entire
work.
- Nature of the copyrighted work - is it factual vs. creative?
- Effect of the potential market for or value of the work. For instance, does copying
reduce the potential profits of the copyright owner?
What Is Fair Use for Teaching Purposes?
There is a common misconception that "fair use" allows unlimited copying
for teaching purposes. There are strict prohibitions against copying without permission
in the following instances:
- Copying that is used to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, collective
works, etc.
- Copying that substitutes for purchase of books, publishers' reprints, or periodicals.
- Copying that is repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from
semester to semester.
- Copying of "consumables" such as workbooks, standardized tests, test booklets,
answer sheets, etc.
- Copying of more than one short poem, article, story, or essay, or more than two
excerpts from the same author in the same class term.
- Copying of more than three items from a collective work or periodical volume during
one class term.
Can I Copy Films and Videotapes?
Possession of a film or videotapes does not confer the right to show the work. The
copyright owner specifies at the time of purchase or rental the circumstances in
which a film or video may be "performed."
However, whatever their labeling or licensing, use of these media is permitted in
an educational institution as long as certain conditions are met. Section 110 (1)
of the Copyright Act of 1976 specifies that the following is permitted:
- Performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face
teaching activities if in a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or
similar place devoted to instruction.
- The work shown must be a legitimate (not illegally reproduced) copy with the copyright
notice included.
What About Computer Software?
When you buy software, you are actually acquiring a license to use the software
from the company that owns the copyrights. The conditions and restrictions of the
license agreement vary from program to program and should be read carefully, especially
in regard to copy, backups, and archives.
- For software to be in the public domain it must be clearly marked as such. Unless
explicitly designated as public domain, one should assume it is copyrighted.
- It is illegal to loan, lease, or rent Colorado State software for the purpose of
direct or indirect commercial advantage without specific permission of the copyright
owner.
- You cannot assume that software may be copied for home use. Software licenses generally
state how and where the software may be legally used by members of the relevant
campus community (faculty, staff, and students).
What About the Internet?
In general, the Copyright Law applies equally to material that is on the Internet.
Unless explicitly designated as public domain, one should assume it is copyrighted.
There is no prohibition against faculty members directing students to review particular
websites. However, information available on the Internet may not be downloaded or
otherwise copied or distributed without the permission of the copyright owner.
What Are the Consequences of Copyright Infringement?
An infringer of copyright is liable for either the copyright owner's actual damages
and/or any additional profits of the infringer or statutory damages.
Copyright infringement is illegal. What authors create and publishers publish, belongs
to them and to reproduce that material without their permission is not only wrong,
it is against the law.
Failure to obtain proper clearance may result in the potential of significant liability
on the part of the faculty/staff member.
Where Do I Go for Copyright Assistance With A Course Packet?
To facilitate the use of copyright-protected materials in printed course packets,
the Department of Communications and Creative Services at Colorado State University
has established a process for assisting faculty and staff who are producing course
materials.
Communications and Creative Services will:
- Contact the Copyright Clearance Center or the publisher for permission to copy the
materials
- Initiate follow-up contact to ensure prompt service
- Calculate and pay the permission fees
- Any copyright permission fees assessed by the publisher or Copyright Clearance Center
will be included in the student's cost of the course packet, or will be billed to
the faculty/staff member who initiated the process.
Copyright permission forms are available at all FastPrint centers and at the CopyRite
located in the Lory Student Center on the lower level, or by calling 491-6432, or
click here
to open and print a PDF version of the form. Once the forms are filled out, they
will be processed as stated above.
Recommended deadline for getting copyright requests to Communications and Creative
Services is eight weeks prior to the first day of semester. Orders received after
the deadline will be processed as soon as possible for delivery on or near the first
day of classes.
You may also obtain your own permission. A written permission must be included when
submitting your class materials to be produced.
In order for a request to be processed, the following information is needed:
- title of book/journal/magazine
- publisher
- author
- article title/chapter title
- specific page numbers you'd like to reproduce
- copyright year
- ISBN/ISSN number (if available)
- please indicate if this book is currently out of print
Where Do I Go For Copyright Assistance with Film, Video, Computer Software, or the
Internet?
Contact the Office of the Vice President for Research at (970) 491-7194.