Copyright & Fair Use
You would
think that fair use would be the answer to all the copyright questions that media
specialists are bombarded with daily. But no… there is still tons of grey area,
plenty of grey area. Let’s begin with the definition of fair use: The right to
use copyrighted material for educational purposes without permission or payment
UNDER SOME CIRCUMSTANCES. Fair use is about flexibility in a given situation;
this plays to the advantage of the user while acknowledging the owner's rights.
Under the copyright law, lawyers and judges decide what is fair within a
specific field using the four considerations mention in the copyright law below
called “the four factors”
*The
nature of the use
*The
nature of the work used
*The
extent of the use
*The
economic effect
When it comes
to the field of education, many teachers believe that because money is not
being made off copyrighted materials or students’ work that includes copied
images or music without proper citation just makes the project more attractive;
instead of ignoring copyright laws and fair use, teachers should model and
teach media literacy.
Practical
Examples of Fair Use within the Context of Teaching Media Literacy:
**Copyrighted
material in media literacy lessons - only use what is necessary for the
educational purpose – a clip or an excerpt with proper citations.
**Copyright
materials in lesson plans/materials – you may use books, workbooks, videos, Websites,
and other learning materials but give credit to quoted material.
**Sharing
curriculum materials - use small portions, clips, or excerpts rather than the
entire work – give credit
**Student
use of copyrighted materials in academic and creative work – students should
not rely solely on copyrighted materials, but transform it and give credit.
**Developing
Audiences for student work – decisions need to be made to ensure that before
distribution, the work meets the transformativeness standard. Each situation is
different – look at permissions process and research the distinction between
licensed materials and public domain.
Common Myth: If I’m not making money
off it, it’s fair use, and if I am making money off it, it’s not.
In this
instance, the key is transformativeness; adding value or repurposing materials
from its original form would be considered fair use. Fair use allows for the
modifying of existing media content and placing it in a new forms.
Common Myth: Employing fair use is
too much trouble: I don’t want to fill out any forms.
The whole
point of fair use is to make an informed decision based on fairness of the
owner’s rights while fostering new cultural work. There are no forms to fill
out or official permission.
Cherokee County Copyright Compliance
The Cherokee
County School System shall adhere to the Federal Copyright law (P.L. 94-553).
Useful Information
I really like the way that you explained the practical examples of fair use. If I were to do a training on Copyright and Fair Use in my future media center, I would base it around the types of examples you provide, because I think it clarifies some of the 'grey area' of Fair Use you mentioned at the beginning of your post. It is hard for teachers to fully explore Fair Use, they just don't have the time, but your examples give a good idea about how to use others' original works appropriately. Remembering to cite sources and give credit goes a long way in protecting your Fair Use rights, and I think you covered that well here. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteYou have summarized the rules and explanation of copyright rules in a very concise manner. Your examples have provided a very user friendly visual for educators to use with their students. You have provided many cites for further investigation of copyright and fair use to help clear up any gray areas.
ReplyDeleteThe digital age has pushed the boundaries of the gray area of copyright and fair usage out wider as you mentioned. The practical checklist you provided is an excellent resource to have in determining how to use copyrighted material in the classroom. The transformation aspect of fair use is one aspect of the copyright law I did not know about, but how does it apply. At what point does it become transformative, can you use three quarters of the work or more or less. Even though the gray area has been pushed out your rules helped define the endpoints so it does not spread out further.
ReplyDeleteI agree that copyright laws can be very confusing and misinterpreted, especially in the field of education because the laws are not always clear especially in reference to what is considered to be fair use. You mentioned a few times about the need to properly cite sources. This is something that I struggle with helping my third graders to do in their work. They understand why it is important, but following proper formats can be difficult for them and I find that I often need to teach it very slowly, piece by piece. I am curious as to how other elementary school teachers teach the basics of copyright and citations to their students. I think that citations are often over looked at the elementary level.
ReplyDelete