Copyright and Intellectual

Property Issues
Ellen Varley
Distance Learning Specialist
College of Agriculture and Natural Resources
June 15, 2005
© 2005 Ellen N. Varley All Rights Reserved
 Objectives
• To determine difference between copyright
and intellectual property
• To identify ways to request permission to use
copyrighted materials
• To identify practical steps to protect your
intellectual property
• To access resources on copyright and
intellectual property
 Common Questions
• Copyright and Fair Use
Do you have the right to use other people’s
material in your course?
• Intellectual Property
What happens to the intellectual material
once you have posted it online?
What can you do if material is used without
authorization
 What is Copyright?
• "Copyright" is a protection that covers
published and unpublished literary, scientific,
and artistic works, whatever the form of
expression, provided such works are fixed in a
tangible or material form.
• This means that if you can see it, hear it,
and/or touch it-- it is protected.
From Western University of Health Services
http://www.westernu.edu/university/cr.xml
 What is Copyrighted
• Anything tangible – in a fixed form
• Examples
 Literary works, including software
 Musical works, including accompanying words
 Dramatic works, including accompanying music
 Pantomimes and choreographic works
 Pictorial, graphic and sculptural works
 Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
 Sound recordings
 Architectural works
From US Copyright Office Circular 1
 What is not Copyrighted
• Works that have not been fixed in a tangible form of
expression; for example, improvisational speeches or
performances that have not been written or recorded.
• Titles, names, short phrases and slogans; familiar
symbols or designs; variations of typographic
ornamentation, lettering or coloring; listing of
ingredients or contents.
• Ideal procedures, methods, systems , processes,
concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as
distinguished from a description, explanation or
illustration.
From US Copyright Office Circular 1
 Fair Use – The Four Factors
• The purpose and character of the use,
including whether such use is of 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
• The effect of the use upon the potential
market for or value of the copyrighted work

From Section 107 of Title XVII, U.S. Code

 Copyright and the Internet
• Everything on the Internet is
copyrighted
World Wide Web pages
Courses
Electronic mail, listservs and newsgroups
• The same copyright laws apply to
electronic materials as to print materials
What is Intellectual Property?
• Intellectual Property Law, or IP, is composed
of three primary fields: patents, copyrights,
and trademarks. IP continues to expand as
intellectual property claimants become even
more sophisticated in protecting what they
have created. Therefore, trade secrets,
publicity, and even privacy notions are now
used to protect intellectual creations.
From William Mitchell College of Law
http://www.wmitchell.edu/academics/areas/ip/whatisIP.html
 Example of IP Policy –
University of Texas System
• Permits an author to own scholarly and
educational works within field of
expertise, unless the author was required
to create the work.
• If the University has an interest in
scholarly or educational works, it should
be set out in an agreement to avoid
confusion and misunderstanding.
What you can do to protect IP
• Password protect your site
• Prominently display a copyright notice
on your course – watermark
• Use PDF files instead of HTML
• Use streaming media
 International Copyright
Protection
• Copyright protection rules are fairly similar
worldwide, due to several international copyright
treaties, the most important of which is the Berne
Convention. Under this treaty, all member countries -
- and there are more than 100, including virtually all
industrialized nations -- must afford copyright
protection to authors who are nationals of any
member country. This protection must last for at least
the life of the author plus 50 years, and must be
automatic without the need for the author to take any
legal steps to preserve the copyright.
 International Copyright
Protection
• In addition to the Berne Convention, the
GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade) treaty contains a number of provisions
that affect copyright protection in signatory
countries. Together, the Berne Copyright
Convention and the GATT treaty allow U.S.
authors to enforce their copyrights in most
industrialized nations, and allow the nationals
of those nations to enforce their copyrights in
the U.S.
From http://fairuse.stanford.edu
 Requesting Permission
• Print sources
Print vs. web usage
Contacting publishers
Copyright Clearance Center
• Web Sources
Print vs. web usage
Contacting authors, web developers, etc
CETUS – Excellent Resource
• CETUS – the Consortium for
Educational Technology in University
Systems
• Description of process and sample letter
http://www.cetus.org/fair7.html
 Permission to Publish
• Ten Tips for Webmasters
http://www.nolo.com/article.cfm/objectI
D/8CD796F2-9770-4ECA-
B8F2B4F66DB170F1/310/266/ART/
 Web Resources - Copyright
• United States Copyright Office
 http://www.loc.gov/copyright
• Copyright Clearance Center
 http://www.copyright.com/
• The Copyright Website
 http://www.benedict.com/
• Copyright and Fair Use
 http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
 Web Resources - Copyright
• Stanford University Library
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/
Cyberspace Law Institute
http://www.cli.org/
• 10 Myths about Copyright Explained
 http://www.templetons.com/brad/copymyths.html
 Web Resources – Intellectual
Property
• University of Texas System
 http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/distance.htm

• University of Wisconsin
 http://www.uwex.edu/disted/intprop.html
• William Mitchell College of Law
 http://www.wmitchell.edu/academics/areas/ip/whatisIP.html
 References
• Websites listed
• Teaching Online: A Practical Guide by
Susan Ko and Steve Rossen, 2001
Questions
Comments
Discussion