Southeastern Louisiana University

A NOTE TO THE READER ...

This publication has been adapted and reproduced for the employees of Southeastern Louisiana University by permission of Heartland AEA Media Center. For this privilege, we wish to express our appreciation to Susan Schrader, Heartland AEA Media. Our thanks also to McNeese State University and Nancy Khoury, Director of the Library.

Presented here is a review of the literature on the Copyright Act of 1976 (P.L. 94-553) as amended by the Computer Software Act of 1980 and the Computer Software Rental Amendments Act of 1990, and accompanying legislative reports and guidelines. It was originally compiled to help educators become informed about their rights and responsibilities as users of copyrighted materials. Legal cites, rationale, and discussion are not included in order to make this publication as brief and easy to use as possible. This publication is intended to be a general discussion and NOT a definitive analysis of copyright.

Additional materials dealing with this subject are on Reserve in Sims Memorial Library. This collection of information is referred to as the Copyright Information Binder. The Library's Government Documents Department houses documents published by the U.S. Copyright Office as well as regulations pertaining to copyright. The U.S.C.A. (United States Code Annotated) is located in the Library's Reference Department.
 

AD HOC COPYRIGHT COMMITTEE:

Randy Moffett
Kay Adams
Nick Bruno
Gene Pregeant
(August 1995)

Protection is provided for "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression." Copyright protection for an original work of authorship DOES NOT extend to any idea, procedure, process, system, or discovery.

It is not necessary to register the work in the Copyright Office in order to secure copyright. An author has copyright as soon as the work is in fixed form. Under the law, persons must assume that any work created after 1978 is copyrighted and, therefore, permission to copy should be requested. There are definite advantages to registering a work at the Copyright Office.

WHAT IS COPYRIGHTABLE

Copyrightable works include the following categories:

1. literary works, i.e., fiction, non-fiction, textbooks, biographies, and other scholarly works
2. musical works, including any accompanying words
3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music
4. pantomimes and choreographic works
5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works
7. sound recordings
8. software

WHAT IS NOT COPYRIGHTABLE

These items or works are not copyrightable:

1. words and short phrases such as names, titles, and slogans
2. familiar symbols or designs
3. mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, coloring
4. mere listing of ingredients or contents
5. ideas, plans, methods, systems or devices
6. blank forms, account books, bank checks, diaries, graph paper, order forms, report forms, scorecards, timecards
7. works consisting of common property-type information

EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS OF THE COPYRIGHT OWNER

The copyright owner has five basic rights. Violation of any of these rights is an infringement of the copyright law. (See Appendix I for Southeastern Louisiana University's Copyright Policy.)

The copyright owner has the right to...

...reproduce the work
...prepare derivative works
...perform the work
...display the work
...distribute the work

"Fair Use" has been the cry educators have used when copying for instructional purposes. Educators have a tendency to lump all copying done in the educational setting under the banner "Fair Use" because schools are nonprofit and the copying is done to teach students. "Fair Use" is often used as an excuse for copying, rather than a well thought out reason for copying. "Fair Use" is a part of the copyright law.

Section 107 of the Copyright Act discusses four factors that determine whether copying can be done legally. ALL FOUR of the factors must be considered in determining fair use. ALL FOUR criteria must be met before copying of any material is allowed. The law does not give one factor more weight over another. However, the courts have generally placed the most emphasis on the last factor, while the second factor is generally accorded the least importance and is also the most unclear of the four.

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work.
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

PURPOSE AND CHARACTER OF THE WORK

If the purpose for copying does not fall into the categories of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, it is not a fair use. The fair use guidelines are not to be interpreted as any sort of not-for-profit or educational "carte blanche" for copying.

NATURE OF THE COPYRIGHTED WORK

"Where the nature of the copyright work is more in the nature of a collection of facts than in the nature of a creative or imaginative work, alleged infringers have greater license to use portions of such work under the fair use doctrine than they would have if creative work were involved." (New York Times Co. v Roxbury Data Interface, Inc.) In other words, copying news magazine articles (factual) is more likely to be allowed under Fair Use than copying a short story (creative).

AMOUNT OF THE WORK USED

The use of an entire work, in other words, wholesale copying, can NEVER be fair use, even in cases where the infringer had no intent to infringe. Copying a large portion of a work or the "essence" of a work is an infringement.

FAIR USE SUMMARY

Copying parts of or entire works for use in a classroom cannot be done simply because the purpose is educational. The Fair Use statute is used to determine the legality of copying when the instance of copying is not addressed in other Sections of the Copyright Act. In other words, first look to the Copyright Act and the accompanying guidelines for the permission to copy. If the copying is not specifically prohibited, it MAY be allowed under Fair Use.

There are guidelines established to help educators decide when copying print materials is allowed. GUIDELINES FOR CLASSROOM COPYING IN NONPROFIT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS was written by educators, authors, and publishers and is a part of the legislative history of the Copyright Act. The GUIDELINES are not a part of the law. The GUIDELINES are contained in the Copyright Information Binder on Reserve in Sims Memorial Library.

The GUIDELINES are prefaced by the statement: "There may be instances in which copying which does not fall within the guidelines stated below may nonetheless be permitted under the criteria of fair use."

SINGLE COPYING

Instructors may make single copies of a chapter of a book; an article from a periodical or newspaper; a short story, essay, or a poem; a chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper to teach a class.

MULTIPLE COPYING

Multiple copies (one copy per pupil in a course) can be made in cases meeting the criteria of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect and if each copy contains a notice of copyright. (See Appendix III for the suggested text of a sign to be affixed to photocopy machines.)

1. Brevity. A complete poem printed on no more than two pages or an excerpt from a longer poem not to exceed 250 words copied in either case.

A complete article, story, or essay of less than 2,500 words, or from other longer pieces of prose, an excerpt of less than 1,000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less, but in either event a minimum of 500 words to be copied. Multiple copies can be made of excerpts of fewer than 500 words.
One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or periodical issue.
2. Spontaneity. Copying is done by the instructor when there is not a reasonable length of time to request and receive permission to copy.
3. Cumulative Effect. The copying is only for one course and only nine instances of multiple copying per course during one class term is allowed.

Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.

SPECIAL WORKS

Short works such as children's books are often less than 2,500 words. These works cannot be copied as a whole; but an excerpt of not more than two published pages containing not more than 10 percent of the words found in the text may be reproduced.

PROHIBITIONS TO SINGLE OR MULTIPLE COPYING

You cannot copy:

--to substitute for purchase or replacement
--workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, or answer sheets
--the same item by the same instructor term after term
--if it is directed by a higher authority
--if there is a charge to students beyond the photocopy cost
--to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works.

OFF-THE-AIR RECORDING

GUIDELINES FOR OFF-THE-AIR RECORDING OF BROADCAST PROGRAMMING FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES is a product of Congressman Robert Kastenmeier's committee and is not a part of the law. It does serve as the authority for taping off-the-air for educational purposes. The GUIDELINES are contained in the Copyright Information Binder on Reserve in Sims Memorial Library.

1. The guidelines apply only to off-the-air recording by nonprofit educational institutions.
2. Videotapes may be kept for only 45 calendar days after the recording date. The tapes must be erased after this time.
3. The videotape may be shown to students only during the first 10 school days after the recording date. It may be repeated once for reinforcement. (Points 2 and 3 are the 45-10 rule).
4. Off-the-air recordings may be made only at the request of an individual instructor and not in anticipation of an instructor request. The same instructor can request the program be recorded only once.
5. If several instructors request the same program be recorded, duplicate copies may be made.
6. After the first 10 days allowed for showing, the recording may only be used for evaluation purposes.
7. Off-the-air recordings may not be edited or combined with other recordings to create an anthology or a new work.
8. All copies of the recording must contain a notice of copyright as broadcast.
9. The university is expected to establish the appropriate controls to ensure compliance with these guidelines.

PUBLIC BROADCAST PROGRAMS

Public Broadcasting Service, Public Television Library, Great Plains National Instructional Television Library, and Agency for Instructional Television allow educators to videotape their programs off-the-air under these conditions:

1. Recordings may be made by students or instructors in accredited, nonprofit educational institutions.
2. Recordings may be used only for instruction in a classroom, lab, or auditorium. (Not restricted to one classroom or instructor).
3. Recordings may not be shared outside of that school.
4. Recordings may be used as often as needed for seven days and must then be erased.

"FOR HOME-USE-ONLY" VIDEOTAPES

Rented videotapes often carry the warning "FOR HOME USE ONLY," which raises the question of whether the rented videotapes may be used in the classroom. If the videotape has been cleared for public performance, there is no problem using it in the classroom.

The gray area revolves around whether a classroom is a public place. The debate over this question will continue until a court case resolves it. In the meantime, a review of the literature INDICATES that an instructor COULD show a home-use-only videotape in a classroom with the reasoning that educators have the right to display or perform works in face-to-face teaching situations. A review of the literature indicates that the videotape must meet an instructional goal and not be entertainment for the students.

If there were no exceptions to the five exclusive rights of the copyright owner (the rights to reproduce, prepare derivative works, perform, display, and distribute the copyrighted work), no audiovisual materials could be used in an educational setting. The material would be displayed or performed and would violate the copyright law.

To protect educators when using copyrighted audiovisual materials in a class, the following conditions must be met:

YOU MAY USE AUDIO-VISUAL MATERIALS WHEN

1. shown as part of the instructional program.
2. It is shown by students, instructors, or guest speakers.
3. It must be shown in the classroom, workshop, library, gym, or auditorium.
4. It must be shown in a face-to-face teaching situation or in the same building or general area.
5. It must be shown only to students or educators.
6. Copyright notice must be included and it must be a legitimate copy.

YOU MAY NOT USE AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS WHEN

1. It is for entertainment or recreational purposes and unrelated to a teaching activity.
2. It is transmitted by radio or television from an outside location (such as closed circuit from another building).
3. It is shown to an audience other than students or instructors, even when students or instructors are present.
4. You may not use an illegally acquired or duplicated copy.

COPYING FOR PERFORMANCE

Emergency copying is allowed only if the purchased copies are not available for a performance. The photocopies must then be destroyed.

COPYING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES

Single or multiple copies of excerpts may be made if less than 10% of the whole work is copied and if it is not a performable unit such as a selection, movement, or aria.

Purchased music may be edited if the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics altered or added if none exist.

A single copy of an entire performable unit can be made if it is out of print or unavailable except in a larger work. It cannot be used for performance.

A single copy of a recording owned by the university or instructor may be made for aural exercises or tests and that copy may be retained by the university or faculty member.

A single copy may be made as a free service for the blind.

A single copy of a student performance may be made for study and for the archives.

A single copy may be made for preservation or replacement in the library when copies are not available for purchase.

COPYING THAT IS PROHIBITED

You cannot copy to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works.

You cannot copy to avoid purchase.

The Copyright Act of 1976 and the Computer Software Copyright Act of 1980 do not give educators crystal clear guidelines as to when computer software may be copied. There has also been no definitive judicial guidance.

Interpretations of the law have been made by several experts and the following is a summary of those interpretations.

YOU CAN

1. make an archival or back-up copy of a software program that you own. The back-up copy is to be used only if the original fails. You cannot use the back-up copy on a second microcomputer simultaneously with the master copy.
2. adapt the program to your use by adding to the content or adapting it to another language. You cannot sell, distribute, or transfer the adapted version of that program.
3. loan the computer software on a non-profit basis and for non-profit purposes. (See Appendix IV for the warning of Copyright for Software Rental which must be affixed to the packaging that contains a copy of a computer program which is the subject of a library loan to patrons.)

YOU CANNOT

1. make multiple back-up copies.
2. make one copy for home and one copy for the university.
3. make a copy for a friend (unless it is public domain).
4. transmit through a network outside of a university building.

(See Appendix V for a sign appropriate for conspicuous display where computer software is found.)

FAIR USE AND SOFTWARE

Educators are concerned about their rights under the provision of Fair Use. As you must meet all four Fair Use criteria, it is not unreasonable to use Fair Use as the rationale for copying. A review of the literature indicates that copying computer software for short-term, emergency use may be allowed.

COMPUTER LABS

Software use in computer labs is a gray area in some regards. There are differing views of what is allowable. The basic difference in opinion stems from the misunderstanding of what constitutes a copy of computer software.

There are two definitions of making a copy of computer software.

Under the law, educators are allowed to make one back-up copy and this copy cannot be used at the time the original is being used. You cannot make several copies of one program for students to use in a lab (even though you have purchased a program, you have not purchased the right to copy the program).

A copy of a computer program is also being made when loaded into the memory of a computer. If you load one program into several microcomputers to be used at the same time, you are making illegal copies and are violating the law. This instance of copying is often overlooked by educators because it produces an intangible copy. This interpretation of copying, although difficult to understand, is accepted by many legal experts whose articles were reviewed for this publication.

YOU MAY NOT

Here is an example of what one expert suggests that you may and may not do with multiple microcomputers. You would likely be IN VIOLATION of the law if you load one program into several microcomputers for use at the same time (assuming the program was not packaged and sold for that very purpose). The key here is simultaneous use. To get around this problem of multiple loads for simultaneous use, some companies are using multi-copy pricing and licensing provisions.

YOU MAY

Therefore, it would appear that YOU CAN use one program sequentially on several microcomputers. That is, load in one microcomputer, use it, turn off the microcomputer, load into another microcomputer, etc. Again, the key is simultaneous use. Simultaneous use is likely to be in violation of the copyright law; sequential use is not.

LICENSING AGREEMENTS

Some software programs have a statement on the shrink-wrap or the cover that you agree to the conditions for using the program as therein stated. Occasionally the conditions may seem prohibitive.

There have been no judicial guidelines as to whether these licensing statements are legally binding. Until there are some legal guidelines, the experts reviewed for this publication urge educators to be cautious when using any programs with this type of statement.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN AN ELECTRONIC ENVIRONMENT

The University recognizes the emerging questions relative to intellectual property rights in an electronic environment. At this time only a "Working Document" is available to address the concern that the interests and rights of copyright owners and users remain balanced in the digital environment. This document, "Fair Use in the Electronic Age: Serving the Public Interest," and any additional statements on this topic will be included in the Copyright Information Binder on Reserve in the Circulation Department in the Library.

AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

The library may make one copy and circulate the following if it is only a replacement for lost, stolen, or damaged materials that cannot be replaced at a fair price:

-- musical works
-- pictorial, graphic, or sculptural works
-- motion pictures

SOFTWARE

The Library may make one archival copy of a copyrighted program under the following conditions:

1. one copy is made;
2. the archival copy is stored;
3. if possession of the original ceases to be lawful, the archival copy must be destroyed or transferred along with the original program;
4. copyright notice should appear on the copy.

(More specific details on guidelines relating to software may be found in the Copyright Information Binder on Reserve in Sims Library.)

PHOTOCOPYING FOR LIBRARY RESERVE

The MODEL POLICY CONCERNING COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY PHOTOCOPYING FOR CLASSROOM, RESEARCH AND LIBRARY RESERVE USE is a document prepared by the American Library Association. It outlines "fair use" rights in an academic environment and provides specific guidelines for library reserve copying.

At the request of a faculty member, a library may photocopy and place on reserve excerpts from copyrighted works in its collection in accordance with guidelines similar to those governing formal classroom distribution for face-to-face teaching as outlined earlier. This University believes that these guidelines apply to the library reserve shelf to the extent it functions as an extension of classroom readings or reflects an individual student's right to photocopy for his personal scholastic use under the doctrine of fair use. In general, librarians may photocopy materials for reserve room use for the convenience of students both in preparing for class assignments and in pursuing informal educational activities which higher education requires, such as advanced independent study and research.

Specific details of Sims Library's Reserve Policy are available at the Circulation Desk. Faculty will be provided with a copy of this policy upon their first use of the Reserve service.

OTHER LIBRARY PHOTOCOPYING:

A library may photocopy

1. A work that is damaged when it is determined that a replacement is not available at a fair price.
2. Small excerpts of a work (i.e., one article in a magazine) for a student or for interlibrary loan. (Contact the Sims Library Interlibrary Loan Department for interlibrary loan policies and procedures.)
3. The same excerpt on separate occasions if it is not systematic or a substitute for purchase.

A library may not charge for more than the cost of the photocopy. All photocopies must have notice of copyright similar to this:

The Southeastern Campus Copy Center/Printshop is a subscriber of the Academic Permissions Service (APS), which is a division of the Copyright Clearance Center. This service has been established to coordinate faculty members' requests for permission to duplicate copyrighted information in the compilation of course packet materials to be reproduced and sold by the Campus Copy Center. Procedures are as follows:

1. All requested work to be duplicated must be submitted on an APS Request Form which is available from the Campus Copy Center.
2. The request form must be filled out completely with all requested information, including the following:
1. Publisher/Copyright Holder
2. Book/Journal Title
3. Chapter/Article Name
4. Author/Editor
5. Volume/Edition
6. Total number of pages, including beginning and ending page numbers
7. Number of sets to be reproduced--An accurate estimate of quantity of copies needed is critical because royalty fees are assessed based on the number of pages used from a particular work and the number of copies made.

PLEASE NOTE: If essential information is lacking, permission may be delayed or denied.

 
3. If more than one page of the APS Request Form is needed, please mark the top right-hand corner with the appropriate page information.
4. Send the completed form to the Campus Copy Center, which will forward the request to the Copyright Clearance Center, or the appropriate publisher.
5. Within five working days of receipt, the Copy Center will send a confirmation notice to the requestor informing them of permission grants and/or denials on a work-by-work basis.
6. All fees assessed by the Copyright Clearance Center and/or publishers will be calculated into the cost of the course packet.

The administration of Southeastern Louisiana University expects strict compliance with provisions of the U. S. Copyright Law. Therefore, all employees (including, but not limited to, administrators, faculty, and staff) must adhere to all provisions of Title 17 of the U.S. Code, entitled "Copyrights," and other relative federal legislation and guidelines related to the duplication, retention, and use of copyrighted materials. The U.S.C.A. (United States Code Annotated) is located it the Reference Department of Sims' Library. The university further directs that unlawful copies of copyrighted material shall not be produced on or used with university-owned equipment, within university-owned facilities, or at university-sponsored events to include instructional classes.

Members of the faculty or administration shall not direct clerical staff (including student assistants) to make any illegal copies. At the time of employment, all members of the faculty, administration, and staff shall agree to accept responsibility for understanding the requirements of the Copyright Law as expressed in Southeastern's Copyright Policy.

Sims Memorial Library has on Reserve the Copyright Information Binder, which contains supplemental material to help faculty and staff answer any questions relating to this topic.

The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use," that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

A Warning of Copyright for Software Rental shall consist of a verbatim reproduction of the following notice:

This warning shall be affixed to the packaging that contains a copy of a computer program which is the subject of a library loan to patrons, by means of a label cemented, gummed, or otherwise durably attached to the copies or to a box, reel, cartridge, cassette, or other container used as a permanent receptacle for the copy of the computer program. The notice shall be printed in such a manner as to be clearly legible, comprehensible, and readily apparent to a casual user of the computer program.

Making copies of materials (including software and other electronic data) without express permission of the author (or owner) is a violation of federal law. This can result in fines of $10,000 for each instance of violation. If you are copying, you are the one who is responsible for violating the copyright laws. If you think that we are "making a federal case" of it, you are wrong! It is already federal law.

The answers to these copyright questions are based upon the opinions of experts in the copyright area whose writings have been reviewed for this publication. The following questions and answers are provided to assist in ascertaining the applicability of copyright considerations. Questions covering various categories covered by copyright laws are included for your reference. The user should not view this list of questions as all inclusive. Familiarity with the copyright law related to the specific category is advised.

COPYING FROM BOOKS AND PERIODICALS

Q. May a faculty member make a transparency from a book?
A. Yes, this falls within the guidelines of single copying for classroom use.

Q. Can a faculty member duplicate materials and put them on reserve at the library?
A. Yes, if the copying is spontaneous and if copying falls under guidelines for education or classroom use of books and periodicals or is a fair use.

Q. A faculty member finds an 0. Henry short story that would fit into a unit to be taught next week. Can multiple copies be made for the class?
A. Yes, since it is the inspiration of the faculty member and also meets the criteria of brevity. The copies cannot be used next term.

Q. Can a faculty member make copies from a workbook?
A. No, workbooks are consumable materials and cannot be copied.

Q. Some materials are marked as follows: "All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher." Can this material still be copied for education purposes?
A. Yes, fair use would still apply.

Q. A faculty member runs across a book that has no copyright notice. Can copying be done freely in this instance?
A. No one can be certain that a work is in the public domain unless a notice states that the reproduction is permitted. When in doubt about copyright status, ask for permission to copy or contact the Copyright Office.

Q. How strict are the Guidelines For Classroom Copying?
A. The purpose of the guidelines is to state the minimum and not the maximum standards of educational fair use. There may be instances where copying does not fall within the guidelines, but is permissible under the criteria of Fair Use.

COPYING MUSIC

Q. In order to avoid damaging records, the media center has made cassette tapes for circulation.
A. This is not allowed because (1) it is a substitute for purchase of possible replacement copies and (2) copying of an entire work is not allowed.

Q. A faculty member is making a sound/slide presentation and wants to use several popular songs as background. Is this allowed?
A. Using portions of songs (less than a performable unit) is probably allowed; however, using an entire song is not.

Q. The music faculty member has changed the lyrics of a song to be presented at the Spring Banquet in order to be more contemporary. Can 30 copies be made for the choir?
A. No, altering or adding lyrics changes the fundamental character of a work and is not allowed under the copyright guidelines.

Q. Several students forgot their music the night of the band performance. Can copies be made just for use that night?
A. Yes, emergency copying to replace purchased copies is allowed. The duplicates must be replaced by the originals.

Q. A faculty member wants to make a cassette copy of a Beethoven record in the media center so that the music can be stopped and started easily. The cassette will be used for the final exam in music.
A. Yes, one copy of the record can be made for exams or aural exercises and may be retained by the university or faculty member.

COPYING AUDIOVISUAL MATERIALS

Q. The university only has one slide projector. Since the university has several filmstrip projectors, can some of the slides which the university owns be converted into filmstrips?
A. No, this type of copying is prohibited. Even though the university has purchased the slides, the right to copy the slides was not purchased.

Q. A couple of faculty members have some filmstrips they would like to combine into one. They will make only one copy that will be for instructional purposes.
A. This is not allowed under the guidelines. Written permission must be obtained.

COPYING OFF-THE-AIR

Q. Can a university tape a movie off-the-air and use it in the classroom?
A. Yes, if a faculty member specifically requests the copy be made, a notice of copyright is included, it is shown to students within 10 school days, it is erased within 45 days (unless you want to preview it at a later date for possible purchase), and is used for instructional rather than entertainment purposes.

Q. Can a faculty member tape a movie at home and show it in a class?
A. Yes, following the guidelines in the previous answer.

Q. Can a media specialist videotape a program that the science faculty member may want to use in class?
A. Not really. According to the guidelines, the faculty member must request that a specific program be videotaped.

Q. Can a faculty member show last Sunday's Walt Disney cartoon during a rainy recess?
A. No, the videotape must be used for instructional, not entertainment, purposes.
Q. Can the university show a group of parents and students a recently televised program on drugs?

A. Probably not. The presence of parents constitutes a public performance.
Q. Can a program taped off-the-air be transmitted to several classrooms via closed circuit?
A. Probably. Closed circuit may be considered similar to a face-to-face teaching situation. The question comes in when the transmission is from one building to another.
 

USING HOME-USE-ONLY VIDEOTAPE

Q. Can you use a videotape in a class if it was rented at a video store?
A. Probably. The question arises if showing a video to a group of students constitutes a public performance. The experts differ. You can probably show the videotape if it is for instructional, not entertainment, purposes.

Q. Can you make a copy of videotape that was rented if it is used only once and within 10 days?
A. No, copying an entire work that you do not have permission to copy is a violation of the copyright law.

COPYING COMPUTER SOFTWARE

Q. Can a faculty member make 10 copies of a program to check out from the media center for just a two-week period?

A. No, the university purchased one copy, not the right to make additional copies.

Q. Once the shrink-wrap is broken, is the university bound by the restrictions on the label?

A. This is a gray area. Whether the restrictions/warnings are binding will have to be decided in the courts.

Q. Can a faculty member change the language of a computer program?
A. Yes, the program may be adapted.

Q. Can a computer program be loaded into six computers so that six students can use it at the same time during class?
A. Probably not. It is a simultaneous use of the software and is more than likely a violation. Copies are being made when the program is in the computer memory.

Q. Can you make a copy of a software program so that it can be used at home and at school.?
A. One copy may be made of software that you own, and that is the back-up copy.

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