Copyright

What is Copyright?

Copyright is found in state, federal, and international laws and grants exclusive rights and protections to creators and developers of creative works, including authors, musicians, artists, and film makers. These rights are specified in Title 17 of the U.S. Code (Copyright Act of 1976 and its provisions thereof) at §106 and include:

The right to reproduce the work;
The right to prepare derivative works based on the original work;
The right to distribute copies of the work to the public;
The right to perform the work publicly;
The right to display the work publicly;
The right to perform the work publicly via digital audio transmission;
And the right to assign these rights to others.

Definitions for terms found throughout this page can be at the U.S Copyright Office.

Copyright protects those that are “original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression” [17 U.S. Code §102]. These include literary, musical, and dramatic works; pantomimes and choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; motion pictures and other audiovisual works; sound recordings, and architectural works.

Copyright infringement is exercising, without permission or legal authority, one or more of the exclusive rights granted to the copyright owner under section 106. In the context of file-sharing, the act of downloading or uploading substantial parts of a copyrighted work without authority constitutes an infringement. No matter the medium, using copyrighted material without the creator’s consent is a violation of the law.

Copyright protection does not extend to ideas, procedures, systems, methods of operation, concepts, principles, discoveries, or processes, although processes can be patented. When using this type of material, though, academic ethics and professional courtesy dictate that the source should be credited unless the information is common knowledge.

For more information on the College’s policies on copyright, intellectual property, and plagiarism, see Use of Copyrighted Materials (Procedure 2150), Intellectual Property (Procedure 2470), and Academic Integrity (Procedure 2502).

Additional Resources

Know Your Copy Rights (Association of Research Libraries)

Library Rights Under the U.S. Copyright Act (Association of Research Libraries)

Disclaimer

The use of any copyrighted works is at the discretion of the user subject to the laws and considerations mentioned here. Guidance provided by the Barton Library, including the contents of this webpage, should not be considered legal advice.

Showing Media in Class or on Campus

Before performing or displaying a film, video, or television program to an audience, be they engaged in a course, group or club activity, organization event, or training session, you should consider the media’s copyright. This legal issue must be respected regardless of the video’s ownership, format, and source, and whether admission is being charged. Copyright holders have several layers of specific rights, which are commonly known as public performance rights (PPR).

Public Performance Rights

Public Performance Rights are the legal rights to publicly show media (film, video, or television program). Normally, the media’s producer or distributor holds and manages these rights. However, the rights holder or their designate can assign PPR to others through a Public Performance License.

Exceptions in the Classroom

Using a film, video, or television program in a classroom for curricular or educational purposes is allowable without permission under the face-to-face teaching exemption in the Copyright Act (Title 17 U.S.C.) at §110(1). Under the idea of fair use, the face-to-face teaching exemption allows for the performance or display of video in a classroom where (1) instruction takes place with enrolled students physically present and (2) the film is related to the curricular goals of the course.

The TEACH Act amendment, codified in the Copyright Act at §110(2), and fair use permit the performance of a reasonable and limited portion of media in distance education or hybrid courses. Showing an entire film online is rarely considered reasonable and limited and may or may not constitute fair use.

Whenever the goals of a course allow, relying on clips or short excerpts of a film or video for online instruction is preferable. Considerations of fair use of video clips include:

The nature of the work: Is it a feature film or an educational video? Is the film marketed for education? Is the work creative or simple, in the latter case consisting of news events or explanations?
The amount of the work: How long are the clips? Are they brief? Do they constitute the “heart of the work,” i.e., the main point or thrust of the work? Does the length of the original video matter when considering how much to use?
The effect of the use on the marketplace for the video: Is the film or video readily available for purchase by students at a reasonable price? Is it a foreign film that is not easily findable, affordable, or usable (for example, a DVD with a non-North American region code)? Is it an educational film or a general, commercial work? Does the library or the institution own a copy of the work (and thus has contributed to the market for the work)?*

The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) prohibits the circumvention of technological prevention measures (TPM) on DVDs and other media for the purpose of copying and distributing their content. Consequently, digitizing and streaming an entire DVD is not allowable without an express exemption from the copyright holder.†

If fair use does not apply to the situation, then the instructor should choose a licensed streaming provider, such as the Library’s InfoBase Learning database, opt for works in the public domain (see “Movies and Multimedia” under the Public Domain Materials Research Guide), or obtain a public performance license.

See the Association of Research Libraries for more information.

Exceptions Outside the Classroom

The showing of media for the purposes of face-to-face teaching outside the physical or virtual classroom is covered under the fair use exemption. However, those in attendance must be enrolled in the course. The performance or display of copyrighted media must be limited to education or curricular purposes and cannot be open to the general public or freely accessible on the internet.

The showing of media as part of a professional training session is allowable under fair use, but the use of the work must be limited to the extent necessary to fulfill the program’s purpose.

Best Practices

Use only the portions necessary to support pedagogy.
If showing the entire work is essential, secure permission from the rights holder.
Pause the media periodically for discussion or commentary rather than only at the conclusion.
Provide password protected access to enrolled online students.
Do not record the session.

*Crews, K. D. (2020). Copyright law for librarians and educators: Creative strategies and practical solutions (4th Ed.). Chicago: ALA Editions.

†Content adapted from the University of Florida under CC BY-NC 4.0.

Public Performance License

Showing copyrighted media, whether borrowed from the Barton Library, or purchased or streamed, to attendees outside of regular curriculum-based instruction will typically require PPR. These situations include:

A venue open to the public, either indoors or outdoors, with unrestricted access (e.g., student union, library, auditorium, or classroom open to any individual).
Attendees who are outside the institution’s normal constituency (e.g., visitors to campus).
Attendees who are outside the normal circle of family and friends (e.g., those attending College-affiliated meetings, programs, or club or organization events).
An occasion in which the purpose is to entertain rather than truly instruct.

PPR are NOT required for:

Home viewing with only family and friends in attendance (e.g., dorm room, dorm longue, Sunflower Commons television room).
Screening media to officially registered students as part of the course syllabus in a physical or virtual classroom that is not open to the general public.
Videos that are in the public domain or licensed under Creative Commons.

Charges for PPR can range from $100 to $1,000, depending on the work and the copyright holder. Companies that can facilitate the acquisition of a PPR license include Criterion Pictures, USA, Kino Lorber, Motion Picture Licensing Corporation, and Swank Motion Pictures, Inc.

Searching for and securing a PPR license and any attendant costs remain the responsibilities of the person(s) screening or showing the media.

The Barton Library will NOT obtain PPR licenses for faculty departments, staff offices, or student organizations.

Streaming Media Performance Rights

All films featured in the Library’s streaming media collections contain PPR.

InfoBase/Feature Films for Education

Permitted Uses of Feature Films for Education

“The Feature Films for Education collection is licensed solely to Licensee and Authorized Users for classroom teaching, for use in educational institutions, provided no admission or other fees are charged for public viewing. Licensee and Authorized Users may stream, display, or exhibit the Video Titles asynchronously on a single computer or through Canvas, Schoology, or a proxy service. Licensee and Authorized Users may electronically save, organize, and share Video Titles with other Authorized Users using tools provided within the Feature Films for Education collection.”

Prohibited Uses of Feature Films for Education

“Neither Licensee nor Authorized Users may (1) mount or distribute any element of the Feature Films for Education collection on any electronic network accessible to parties who are not Authorized Users, including without limitation the Internet and the World Wide Web; (2) use all or any part of the "Feature Films for Education" collection for Commercial Use or; (3) copy, transmit, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from the Video Titles except as expressly permitted under applicable law. Interlibrary loan functionality is not supported by the Feature Films for Education collection.”

InfoBase/Films on Demand

Permitted Uses of Films On Demand

“Films On Demand is licensed solely to Licensee and Authorized Users for classroom teaching, research, presentations, and educational non-commercial multimedia projects for use in educational institutions, provided no admission or other fees are charged for public viewing. Licensee and Authorized Users may stream, display, publicly perform, or exhibit the Video Titles asynchronously on a single computer or network, course management system, or password-protected website. Licensee and Authorized Users may electronically save, organize, and share Video Titles or parts thereof with other Authorized Users using tools provided with Films On Demand. Licensee may create and distribute transcripts.”

Prohibited Uses of Films On Demand

“Neither Licensee nor Authorized Users may (1) mount or distribute any element of Films On Demand or any of its Collections on any electronic network accessible to parties who are not Authorized Users, including without limitation the Internet and the World Wide Web; (2) use all or any part of Films On Demand for Commercial Use or; (3) copy, transmit, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from the Video Titles except as expressly permitted under applicable law or as described herein. Interlibrary loan functionality is not supported by the Films On Demand platform.”

Journal of Visualized Experiments: JoVE1: Lab Tech / JoVE 2: Cellular-Molecular

Authorized Use of JoVE

“JoVE can be integrated into a faculty’s course page, shown in the classroom or linked out to from power point presentations in class. JoVE videos cannot be downloaded or used for commercial purposes.”

Nursing & Allied Health Premium (ProQuest)

Authorized Use of ProQuest Materials

“Audio and Video files are delivered to Customer and its Authorized Users via streaming service over the Internet. Customer and its Authorized Users shall not download or otherwise copy the streaming videos or audio contained in the Service. In the case of content that can potentially be publicly performed, Customer must secure permission from ProQuest’s Licensor and/or the copyright holder for any public performance other than reasonable classroom and educational uses.”

Nursing and Mental Health in Video (Alexander Street) / Nursing Education in Video (Alexander Street Academic Video Online)

Authorized Use of Alexander Street Materials

“Films available in Academic Video Online include limited public performance rights, which includes permission for classroom showings, as well as public screenings, as long as no admission is being charged.”

For questions on securing permissions for media in face-to-face teaching contexts, contact the Director of Innovation & Compliance. For all other questions, contact the Director of Library & College Archives.

Fair Use

The concept of "Fair Use" can be found in section 107 of the Copyright Act. This section explains in broad terms the conditions under which it is permissible to use copyright-protected materials without first obtaining permission from the author or creator of the work. The following is excerpted from the copyright law:

“[F]air use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use, the factors to be considered shall include—

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

“The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.”

Additionally, section 504(c)(2) protects individuals working in a non-profit educational institution who possess “reasonable grounds for believing that his or her use of the copyrighted work was a fair use under section 107.” To enjoy the protections of this subsection, students, faculty, and staff need to ensure the four criteria for fair use have been met. When evaluating the use of copyrighted materials, take into consideration all four criteria.

Nevertheless, determining whether fair use applies can sometimes be challenging. To mitigate this issue, private organizations representing educational institutions, authors, creative guilds, and publishers in the late 1970s developed three "safe harbor" guidelines that help to clarify the types of usage that is within the limits of fair use:

Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions with respect to books and periodicals.

Guidelines for the Educational Uses of Music.

Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes.

Additional Resources

Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (U.S. Copyright Office).

Fair Use Evaluator (Copyright Advisory Network, American Library Association).

Public Domain

Published works are divided into two categories resulting from whether they secured federal statutory protection on or after January 1, 1978, the date the Copyright Act went into effect. The Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, signed into law on October 27, 1998, altered the lifetime of copyright of works published from 1926* to 1978 to reflect their current term. Generally, the existing laws automatically protect a work created on or after January 1, 1978, for a term of the author’s life plus an additional 70 years. For works made for hire and anonymous and pseudonymous works, the duration of copyright is 95 years from the first publication or 120 years after creation, whichever is the shorter term. Once these time limits are reached, works pass into the public domain.

For works that had already secured statutory protection prior to January 1, 1978, the system found in the Copyright Act of 1909 has been retained for determining copyright status, with some revisions.

Most types of works are located within six broad groups. The categories in the tables below do not purport to resolve every situation, and they omit sound recordings, architectural works, and works published outside the United States. These categories should only be used as a convenient guide; additional questions may be directed to a Barton Library employee for further research and consultation.

Works Registered or First Published in the U.S.

Date of Publication	Conditions	Copyright
Before 1926*	None	None. In the public domain due to copyright expiration
1926* through year-end 1963	Published with notice, and the copyright was renewed under the 1909 Act	95 year after publication date. All works not properly renewed have entered the public domain
1964 through year-end 1977	Copyright was automatically renewed under the 1992 legislation	95 years after publication date
Works created, but not published, before 1978	Copyright was automatically conferred under the 1992 legislation	70 years after the death of the author.
Works created on or after 1978	Created after 1977 and published with notice	70 years after the death of the author. If a work of corporate authorship 95 years from publication or 120 years from creation, whichever expires first
1776 through present year	Works prepared by an officer or employee of the United States Government as part of that individual’s official duties.	None. In the public domain [17 U.S. Code § 105]

*Date will change on yearly basis

Never Published, Never Registered Works

Type of Work	Copyright Term	Entered into the public domain, effective January 1, 2021
Unpublished works	70 years after the death of the author.	Works from authors who died before 1952*
Unpublished anonymous and pseudonymous works, and works made for hire (corporate authorship)	120 years from the date of creation	Works created before 1902*
Unpublished works when the death date of the author is unknown [17 U.S. Code § 302(e)]	120 years from the date of creation	Works created before 1902*

*Date will change on yearly basis

Additional Resources

Circular 15A (U.S. Copyright Office).

Digital Copyright Slider (Copyright Advisory Network, American Library Association).

If you are not sure whether you have the appropriate permissions to use materials, consult this Copyright Flowchart.

If the material in question does not meet the requirements of fair use or is not in the public domain, this Requesting Permission Checklist and Sample Permission Letter will assist you in the process of being able to legally use copyrighted materials.

Additional Resources

How to Obtain Permission (U.S. Copyright Office).

Obtain Permissions and Order Article Reprints (Copyright Clearance Center).

Model Letter: Streaming Video on Internet (Copyright Advisory Services, Columbia University Libraries).

Model Letter: Reprinting into a New Work (Copyright Advisory Services, Columbia University Libraries).

Creative Commons Licenses

Creative Commons licenses allow a content creator to facilitate the sharing and discovery of their work under the protection of copyright laws. These licenses are legal agreements between the creator and user(s), which may be enforceable in a court of law. Failure to follow the stipulations and conditions of the license may have legal and financial ramifications. The most fundamental requirement is giving credit to the content creator, which is also a basic ethical consideration.

Through the Creative Commons, a creator can choose from six different licenses to apply to their copyrighted work:

CC BY

This license allows one to copy, share, adapt, or otherwise build upon a work in any medium or format as long as credit is given to the creator. The license allows for commercial use.