Sharing Instructional Materials
Books and periodicals
With respect to classroom copying of books and periodicals, the United States Copyright Office decided that:
A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
- A chapter from a book
- An article from a periodical or newspaper
- A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work
- A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper
Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion; provided that:
- The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity ... and,
- Meets the cumulative effect test ... and,
- Each copy includes a notice of copyright
The above excerpts are reprinted from the Circular 21: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians (Page 6).
Images
When displaying images in a course site, include a notice that the digital images should not be downloaded, shared, or otherwise used beyond the permitted educational uses.
If you are displaying an image outside of a course site on the open internet, get permission from the copyright owner. Copyright owners may have their own website and provide contact information or usage guidelines. If you can’t find either of these and can’t get permission, you should avoid using the image.
Resources such as Google Images and Bing Images allow you to filter results by license type or usage rights. With Google Advanced Image Search, you can limit the search by usage rights.
Videos and Other Media
The performance of a copyrighted video of other media must be made only with permission from the copyright owner or consistent with one of the exceptions or limitations in the Copyright Law.
First of all, you can perform a work in the course of teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution. Section 110(1) and Section 110(2) of the U.S. Copyright Law includes a code section specifically permitting performances of works by nonprofit educational institutions if:
- The performance is in a classroom or similar location for instruction.
- The performance is part of a teaching activity, although it does not have to be part of a regular course. Therefore, an instructor may host a related discussion forum or arrange for a student or instructor to lead an educational program related to the film.
The protections for performing or displaying copyrighted works in face-to-face teaching may also extend to digital transmission of such works through online courses. This exception is provided in Section 110(2) of the Copyright Law.
It is generally legal to perform a work privately, not publicly. A performance may not be “public” if the place is closed to the public, and the audience is not a “substantial” number of persons. Many performances of copyrighted works are “public” and therefore may be a violation of the copyright owner’s rights. A performance can be “public” if it is at a place open to the public or at any place where a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its social acquaintances are gathered. As a result, a “public performance” can take place in a classroom, a dormitory lounge, or a campus theater or auditorium.
Tips for private performing:
- Share it through a password protected platform, such as Blackboard
- Show it in class to registered students
- Avoid larger viewing groups
- Avoid open invitations and announcements to the public
You can also perform a work with permission from the copyright owner. Typically, the copyright owner is the creator of the work. In the case of motion pictures, movie studios usually hold rights in the works they create or distribute.
You may secure permission directly from the copyright owner. Columbia University Libraries provide a guide on how to contact and request permission from a copyright owner to use a copyrighted work.
Note that feature films (such as Hollywood movies) will never come with public performance rights. One-time licenses for showing on campus may be available through companies such as Swank Motion Pictures.
Copyright protection does not last forever, and when the copyright has expired, the work may be used without copyright restriction. For example, any work published in the U.S. before 1923 is in the public domain and may be used freely. Sources of films that are in the public domain include: Internet Archive, Festival Films, Desert Island Films, Reel Media International, BuyOut Footage, and OpenFlix.
Additionally, works created by the federal government are not protected by copyright and are in the public domain (for example, NASA space exploration footage). However, works commissioned by the federal government may have copyright protection. Also, works produced by state, local, or foreign governments may have copyright protection.
Linking to publicly available online content like news websites, existing online videos, etc is rarely a copyright issue, but be sure to check that the account that uploaded the content is official and compliant. For example, TED should be the account that uploaded a TEDtalk.
Library Reserves
The Library allows faculty to put some photocopies of materials on reserve. One paper copy of an article or book chapter may be put on course reserve for every student in your course. Photocopied journal articles placed on reserve will not exceed two articles from any issue of the publication. Photocopied book selections placed on reserve will not exceed 15% of the total pages in the source.
Original print materials can be put on reserve at the request of instructor only while the requesting instructor is actually teaching the course, and will be removed after the course is no longer in session.
For more detailed guidelines on library reserves, check the Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance.
Textbooks may still be available for the library to purchase, either as a hard copy or a digital version (request a purchase). However, publishers do not typically make library eBook versions available for traditional textbooks or workbooks. Consider finding Open Educational Resources (OERs) that suit your weekly topics to reduce textbook cost and access barriers for your students.
Online Sharing
Using Blackboard or other online platforms to make instructional materials available to students can raise many copyright issues. Materials (including articles, book chapters, sound recordings, visual images etc.) may be posted and shared only in a manner consistent with the Copyright Law, which gives legal protection to nearly all text, images, audiovisual recordings, and other materials, whether available on the Internet or in any other medium.
Instructional materials may be posted on Blackboard under any of the circumstances detailed below:
- The material is made available by linking rather than copying
- The material is in the public domain
- The use is within Fair Use under the law or another statutory exception
- The faculty member is the owner of the copyright in the material
- The copyright owner of the material grants permission
Linking to subscription content through the Library website is always a great option. A lot of our subscription content will have "permalink" options, which will work even for off-campus users.
**Many instructors routinely post a copy of their slides as a file for students to access after in-person course meetings. In any case, this should only be done when all material within the slides is copyright-compliant.**
**Performing a work that was NOT lawfully made and obtained, such as a bootlegged or illegally copied item, is NOT allowed under any circumstances.**