小福利导航College adheres to and promotes observance of U.S. copyright laws. Those laws aim to 鈥減romote the Progress of Science and useful arts鈥 (Constitution of the United States, Art. I, Sec. 8) and protect the rights of authors, artists, composers, copyright holders, and those who use material produced by others.
What follows are brief, general principles to help members of the 小福利导航College community follow current U.S. copyright laws. Please be aware that the information on this page is intended to be educational, but is not intended to constitute legal advice. For legal advice regarding a specific intended use, you should always contact an attorney.
You may use work in the public domain, without seeking permission, so long as your use is not defamatory or in violation of other laws unrelated to copyright.
Everything published before 1929, with or without a copyright notice.
All work published without a copyright notice between 1929 and 1977.
Unpublished work created before 1978 enters the public domain 70 years after the creator鈥檚 death.
Facts, statistics, and compilations thereof published at any time.
Everything published by the U.S. government at any time.
See a .
To use copyrighted material you must do one of the following:
Work published with a copyright notice, 1929-1978: 漏 until 95 years after publication.
Unpublished work created before 1978: 漏 for 70 years after death of the creator.
Work created (published or not) after 1978: 漏 until 95 years after the death of the author.
See a .
You may use material under copyright if you determine through informed good faith that your use constitutes 鈥淔air Use.鈥 鈥淔air Use鈥 guidelines () require you to consider the following four factors:
The University of Minnesota provides a for evaluating whether your use of a given work constitutes Fair Use. Of course such a tool is not a substitute for legal advice.
Amount: Few legal analysts question using limited portions of certain materials as part of 鈥渕ediated instruction鈥 or 鈥渃lassroom use鈥: a poem, a song, a slide of contemporary art, a movie, or a scene from a play, provided the instructor obtains the material legally and uses it in a face-to-face setting or on a course website.
Restrictions: You can reduce (but not eliminate) your liability by restricting copyrighted material to students enrolled in your courses and by providing said students with notice of their rights and responsibilities. Restricting access does not in itself ensure Fair Use.
Responsibility: Faculty and students are responsible when they infringe copyright law. The college, however, reserves the right to intervene when it suspects violations, and the college will honor takedown requests from those alleging violations during the period required to evaluate the validity of such claims.
Jailbreaking: The U.S. Copyright Office acknowledges that 鈥渏ailbreaking鈥 protected media may be warranted if the use of that media constitutes Fair Use. .
Some approaches to particular cases appear below.
Movies for classes: Most analysts agree that it is permissible to show entire films in the course of teaching at nonprofit, educational institutions, even if those films are labeled 鈥淗ome Use Only.鈥 You should be safe if:
Movies for the public: You will almost certainly exceed Fair Use if you show a film under copyright in a setting that is not part of a teaching activity. This includes showings by clubs and non-teaching screenings open to the public. You should obtain permission from the copyright holder in all such cases.
Coursepacks: Case law around printed coursepacks is unsettled, and courts have ruled against creators of coursepacks in several well-publicized cases. Debates about the applicability of those rulings to other cases persist. An excellent discussion of the issues and risks in play may be found at the .
Electronic course readings:
Safe use of electronic items:
What is unsettled and subject to conflicting interpretations of Fair Use:
Studies indicate that work published under open access models is read far more widely than work that is not. 小福利导航faculty, staff, and students can make their scholarship and creative work universally available in several ways.
小福利导航OA Resolution: On 5 March 2013 the 小福利导航faculty voted to make 鈥渢he fruits of its research and scholarship as widely available as possible鈥 by granting the college a license to distribute scholarly articles on the faculty鈥檚 behalf. All faculty members must鈥攗nless they obtain a waiver鈥攕ubmit to the college the 鈥渁uthor鈥檚 final version鈥 of their articles no later than the date of publication. See detailed instructions and FAQs.
Creative Commons licenses: You may assign a to your original work鈥攖hus allowing others to read and disseminate that work under terms you establish鈥攚ithout forfeiting copyright in your work.
Open Access publishers: You may also choose to publish with an open access press. Lists of reputable publishers may be found in the Directory of Open Access Books () and the Directory of Open Access Journals ().
Please do not hesitate to call or write with questions.
General Information:
Susan Kimball, Head of Access Services: x2663; sjkimball[at]amherst.edu
Martin Garnar, Director of the Library: x2212; mgarnar[at]amherst.edu
Takedown Requests:
Rightsholders should direct electronic inquiries and complaints about possible copyright infringements to:
dmca[at]amherst.edu
Paper inquiries and complaints should be directed to:
Director of IT Analysis, Planning & Budget
Rm B-15 Converse Hall
小福利导航College
Amherst, MA 01002-5000
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