Disclaimer:
I am a librarian and not a lawyer, so I cannot give you legal advice. Even if I were a lawyer, I would not be able to give advice to people who are not clients. Although I will not give you legal advice, I will try to provide you with information about the law and the issues involved.

Purpose of Copyright (Slide 2):

• This is the sentence in the Constitution that deals with copyright.
• Economic incentive to create by giving authors exclusive control over their works
• Limited time imposed so the public may benefit from the work
• To protect authors, not publishers
• To protect creative expressions

What Is Protected? (Slide 3):

• Original work
• Creative work
• Work fixed in a tangible medium of expression
• Protection is immediate
• Registration no longer required

What Is Not Protected? (Slide 4):

• Facts, ideas, procedures, etc. can be protected by other intellectual property laws:  patents, trademarks, etc.
• Writing something creative and original about these (e.g., a poem about the theory of relativity) would be protected.

Exclusive Rights Conferred (Slide 5):

• These rights are granted to the author as soon as fixation occurs.
• They are divisible and can be unbundled in exclusive (“transfers”) or nonexclusive license (“permissions”) agreements.

Duration of Terms (Slide 6):

• In reality, this is a lot more complex.
• These are the terms for works created after 1978. Those are subject to the Copyright Act or 1976 (17 U.S. Code) and the 1998 Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act.
• There is also the 1909 Copyright Act to consider.
• Challenges:
• 3 generations of protection (not terribly “limited”, as the clause states)
• Coverage is automatic, so it is sometimes difficult to determine owner and status (orphan works).
• Who is being incentivized? The author is often not the rights holder.

The Public Domain (Slide 7):

• Clarify what can definitely be freely used.
• Discuss Lawrence Lessig and CC.

Exceptions (Slide 8):

• Fair Use will be covered in detail.
• Section 108
• Copying materials for replacement and back-up
• Copying for course reserves
• Interlibrary loan
• Limited liability
• Section 110
• 110 (1) – “performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution” is not an infringement (but material must be lawfully obtained).
• 110 (2) –TEACH act
• Means to bring face-to-face exception to distance education
• Note the difference between the broad 110 (1) and detailed 110 (2)
• An example of overly complex, regulatory copyright legislation—a trend (e.g., DMCA and Section 108 Study)

Fair Use (Slides 9-14):

“The fair use of a copyrighted work . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."

• Note that educational uses are explicitly privileged.
• Whether a use is fair can only be determined in a court of law.
• 4 factors must be considered to determine whether a use is fair and no single factor is to be favored (but the courts have lately been weighing 1 and 4 the most).
• Purpose and Character of the use
• Educational uses, while favored, can be commercial, which is not favored (textbooks, for profit universities).
• Transformativeness – Adds new content or meaning to the work (e.g., parody or criticism). This has become a big issue since the 90’s and has made this factor very important.
• Nature of the copyrighted work
• Factual works are favored.
• Published works are favored. It is the author’s right to decide when to publish.
• Amount and substantiality
• There is no defined portion.
• The Classroom Guidelines in a House Report that was incorporated into the 1976 try to set some limits, but they are impractical and outdated (Georgia State case).
• Effect of use on potential market or value of the work
• This has been the factor that has traditionally been discussed most by the courts, and even the Supreme Court has called it the most important factor.
• It also shows how fair use can shrink if it is not used. Licensing fees are now considered a “market”.
• All of this can be made irrelevant by contractual obligations in licensing agreements with publishers.

Getting Permission (Slide 15):

• Contacting the rights holder directly
• Draft your permissions letter and include as much information as possible on the planned use: who, what, when, where, why, how, how much).
• The problem of orphan works.
• Contact a collective rights organization
• Copyright Clearance Center
• In either case, be sure to get a signed permissions agreement.
• Not getting a response does not imply consent.

Conclusion (Slide 16-17):

• Where to find help
• Other resources