Employees shall comply with copyright laws and guidelines for use of print, multimedia, and computer software as set forth in the Administrative Guidelines and Procedures. Failure to comply shall result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Students shall comply with copyright laws and guidelines for use of print, multimedia, and computer software as set forth in the Administrative Guidelines and Procedures.
Students who fail to comply shall be disciplined according to the procedures set forth in the Harford County Public School System's Parent/Student Handbook.
Students or employees shall obtain permission using the Copyright Permission Request form prior to publishing or reproducing more than fair use guidelines permit. When the copyright of a work is in doubt (as on the Internet), the employee or student shall assume it is copyrighted information and shall proceed accordingly.
The Superintendent shall be responsible for ensuring that administrative procedures for copyright policy are effectively implemented throughout the system.
Legal References
17 United States Code 101
et seq.
Policy Adopted: 9/11/2000
___________________________________
Jacqueline C. Haas,
Secretary and Treasurer
Board of Education
of Harford County
COPYRIGHT POLICY
Policy Statement
Employees shall comply with copyright laws and guidelines for use of print, multimedia, and computer software as set forth in the Administrative Guidelines and Procedures. Failure to comply shall result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.
Students shall comply with copyright laws and guidelines for use of print, multimedia, and computer software as set forth in the Administrative Guidelines and Procedures. Students who fail to comply shall be disciplined according to the procedures set forth in the Harford County Public School System's Parent/Student Handbook.
Students or employees shall obtain permission using the Copyright Permission Request form prior to publishing or reproducing more than fair use guidelines permit. When the copyright of a work is in doubt (as on the Internet), the employee or student shall assume it is copyrighted information and shall proceed accordingly.
The Superintendent shall be responsible for ensuring that administrative procedures for copyright policy are effectively implemented throughout the system.
Procedures
The Human Resources Department will provide all current and new employees with a copy of the copyright policy and the accompanying procedures. All employees will be expected to abide by the policy and procedures.
COPYRIGHT
The purpose of copyright is to provide the author of an artistic, literary, musical, or dramatic work the rewards of his/her efforts. It is a legal tool whereby the author may grant (or not) permission to distribute, modify, perform, copy, display, or otherwise use the intellectual property.
While ideas cannot be copyrighted, the following are categories of work which can receive a copyright:
Literary works
Musical works, including accompanying words
Dramatic works, including accompanying music
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
Motion pictures and other audio visual works
Sound recordings
Architectural works
Public educational institutions have been granted exemptions to the copyright law in specific instances: face-to-face teaching, educational broadcasting, and non-standard performances. An owner's copyright is NOT infringed when, in an educational institution, an instructor or pupil reads, displays, or performs a copyrighted work in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction. The activity must take place "face-to-face." Limited exemptions apply to instructional broadcasting and non-profit performances of copyrighted material.
Educational institutions are also granted limited use of copyrighted material through fair use guidelines. These guidelines are explained in the following pages.
FAIR USE GUIDE LINES FOR PRINTED MATERIAL AND MUSIC
At some point all educators are likely to be faced with an event or activity that bears directly on The Copyright Act of 1976. The purpose and conditions for the use of copyrighted materials are defined clearly under the law. Although producers have specific rights, which cannot be denied, fair use guidelines allow educators and students to have access to certain material for limited educational purposes. An understanding of the concept of fair use of copyrighted material is a key factor in determining what may or may not be copied. Section 107 of the copyright law states that:
…the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section (Sec.106) for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, (including multiple copies for classroom use) scholarship, or research is not an infringement of copyright.
Furthermore, section 107 lists the following criteria for evaluating the fair use of copyrighted materials in an educational setting:
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 of the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
This chart contains the current consensus on the extent of fair use. The more one exceeds these guidelines, the greater the chance of violating copyright laws.
| Genre |
Individual copies for
research or preparation |
Multiple copies for
classroom use |
| Poetry |
One poem |
250-word excerpt or complete poem less than 250 words and not more than two pages |
| Prose |
One article, story or essay |
One, 2,500 word or less complete article, story or essay or a 1,000 word excerpt of a longer article not to exceed 10% of the work. No more than one complete poem, article, story or essay or two excerpts by the same author. Not more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term. |
| Textbook |
One chapter |
Same as prose |
| Graphic |
One graphic per book |
The graphic may not be altered in any way. |
| Workbook Pages |
NEVER make multiple copies of a workbook page, etc., unless permission is granted. |
A single overhead transparency from a single page of a consumable workbook may be made. |
| Music |
One copy of a lost part in an emergency if it is to be replaced with a new commercial copy. |
10% of a musical work as long as it does not constitute a performable unit. Music may NEVER be copied to be used for a performance |
All copies should include copyright symbol, date, and publisher.
The law permits nine instances of copying per course per term.
The copied material is for only one course in the school.
FAIR USE GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL MULTIMEDIA
The following guidelines were adopted as a nonlegislative report by the Subcommittee on courts and Intellectual Property, U S House of Representatives in 1996. While they are not legally binding, they represent the current consensus on the extent of fair use of multimedia. The more one exceeds these guidelines, the greater the chance of violating copyright laws.
Educational Multimedia Projects
Educational multimedia projects are included in the Pre K-12 Instructional Technology Outcomes approved by the General Curriculum Committee in June 1998. Multimedia projects are defined the following way in the guidelines:
Educational multimedia projects created under these guidelines incorporate
students' or educators' original material, such as course notes on commentary,
together with various copyrighted media formats including but not limited to,
motion media, music, text material, graphics, illustrations, photographs and
digital software which are combined into an integrated presentation.
When multimedia projects are used for educational purposes, educators and students may include copyrighted material subject to the time, portion, copying, and distribution limitations. Educators in the Harford County Public Schools System are defined as teachers, administrators, and others who engage in scholarly, research, or instructional activities for educational institutions.
Student Use
Students may prepare, perform, and display multimedia projects with limited
copy-righted material.
Educucators
Educators may prepare, perform, and display multimedia projects with limited
copy-righted material for the following uses:
- Face-to-face instruction
- Assignments to students for self-directed study
- Remote instruction if the institutions can prevent duplication
- Peer conferences and workshops
Limitations on use of copyrighted material in one multimedia project.
Time
|
Educators--up to two years
Students may retain a copy for portfolio of academic work or for personal use in job interviews. |
| Copying and Distribution |
Educators may retain no more than two copies,
one on reserve for students and one to archive for professional portfolio. An additional copy may be made to replace a lost or damaged copy.
Students' work may not be copied or distributed without permission. |
| Portion |
For educator or student, the portion limits apply to an academic semester, cycle
or term: |
| Motion Media |
Up to 10% or three minutes which ever is less. |
| Text |
Up to 10% or 1000 words, which ever is less. |
| Music, Lyrics, and Music Video |
Up to 10% but no more than 30 seconds of individual or aggregate of works |
| Illustrations and Photographs |
An entire photograph or illustration, but no more
than five images by an artist In collective works, not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less. |
| Numerical Data Sets |
Up to 10% of 2500 fields (in database) or cell
entries (in spread sheet) |
of when permission is required
- Using multimedia for non-educational or commercial purposes.
- Duplication of multimedia projects beyond limitations listed in guidelines.
- Distribution of multimedia projects beyond limitations listed in guidelines.
Caution on use of material from the Internet in Multimedia Projects
- There is a mixture of copyrighted and public domain information on the Internet.
- Some copyrighted works may have been placed on the Internet without permission.
- Fair use guidelines do not apply to reproducing some or parts of computer software.
Multimedia in the development of Web Page
- The use of any form of multimedia in the development of Web site should parallel the
rules for multimedia projects.
Computer software is protected by the 1976 Copyright Act as literacy work; however, fair use guidelines are impossible to apply. Software publishers issue various types of licenses for the purchase and use of their products, i.e., site licenses, lab packs, network licenses, and one license per computer.
Unless written authorization is supplied by the publisher, students and staff are prohibited from copying software licensed from the school system.
Personal software may not be loaded on equipment owned by the school district.
Illegal copies of software may not be used on school equipment.
