Copyright for Educators
Although it’s not necessarily an exciting topic, everyone should have a basic understanding of how copyright works, especially teachers and students. Copyright not only governs your right to use other’s original work, but it also protects your own projects from unfair and unattributed use by others.
We assembled this comprehensive list of copyright resources that covers everything from a basic copyright introduction to fair use issues in multimedia and digital works. Students can learn how to avoid plagiarism and protect their own creations, and teachers can discover how to incorporate others' ideas into their lessons without violating the law.
Overview – Teachers – Students - Internet & Multimedia
Overview
- Copyright Basics: The University of California provides this basic but comprehensive introduction to copyright law. Learn about what is and isn’t covered by copyright, how long copyright lasts, and when it’s necessary to file a claim of copyright.
- Harvard Law-Copyright Basics: Here you can find a bit more technical overview of basic copyright questions. The article links out to the U.S. laws which govern each particular copyright issue.
- Copyright FAQs: Stanford University’s library system covers many introductory copyright issues in question and answer style. Learn about copyright ownership questions, and view common copyright issues that apply to people in an academic setting.
- Copyright Overview- Purdue University: Purdue’s University Copyright Office discusses the history of copyright law and how it’s in effect today. It also covers fair use exemptions and copyright infringement penalties.
- 7 Things You Should Know About Creative Commons: This article discusses the popular limited copyrights offered by Creative Commons and how they work. It also covers how Creative Commons licensed content affects learning and teaching.
Teachers
- Copyright in Teaching: If you’re an educator worried about violating copyright through your teaching curriculum, check out this article from Duke University. It covers different classroom copyright use scenarios, and their legality.
- Copyright in Teaching, Research, and Publishing: Here you can find links to resources that discuss how copyright affects scholars and teachers who use other’s work. You can also learn about the rights of those who create scholarly content.
- Teaching and Copyright: What should you do if you want to use copyrighted material in your teaching content? This information on fair use and teaching should help you out.
- Tools for Teaching Copyright: This collection of resources is designed for teachers who are interested in teaching copyright to their classes. It also discusses issues of plagiarism and links out to useful research citation tutorials.
- Resources for Copyright and Teaching: The University of North Carolina aggregated this helpful mix of copyright sample forms and letters, brochures, overviews, and FAQs. The information is aimed at educators in a post-secondary institution, but could be helpful for high school and middle school teachers as well.
Students
- Purdue Online Writing Lab: Students concerned about plagiarism in their work should have a look at this comprehensive resource. It covers the spirit of plagiarism, how to paraphrase correctly, and tips for creating thorough citations.
- Students, Copyright, and Plagiarism: This guide aimed at students discusses the implications of using other’s ideas in your own work and explains instances when fair use is and isn’t appropriate. There is also a list of resources for avoiding plagiarism.
- Students & Copyright: The University of Connecticut discusses common copyright issues that come up for students, including using material off the Internet and the use of music and video files. There is also specific information for students about how to defend their own copyrighted works.
- Copyright Infringement and File Sharing: Here you can find out what can happen to students who illegally download files when using a monitored network on a university campus. The article discusses peer-to-peer software and movie and music downloading.
- Copyright Essentials for Graduate Students: Graduate students generate a significant amount of original work during the writing of their theses, and they also rely heavily on the use of other’s copyrighted works. Here is a list of 10 copyright essentials that graduate students should look over, concerning this thesis writing process.
Internet & Multimedia
- Digital Millennium Copyright Act: Here you can read an overview of the law passed in 1998 meant to govern acts of cyber piracy. Learn the highlights of the act and the repercussions for those who infringe on copyright via the Internet.
- Digital Preservation and Copyright: This lengthy article from a Cornell professor discusses how digital media will be preserved for the future, since digital formats are “notoriously fragile.” He brings up the issue of the copyright grey area that can result when institutions like libraries duplicate digital content for the purpose of preservation.
- Digital Rights Management: Dead or Just Evolving?: Wharton, the business school at the University of Pennsylvania, has this article discussing digital rights technologies that companies like Apple have implemented in order to keep consumers from copying their products. It discusses plans for new types of DRM from a business perspective.
- Copyright on the Internet: Special issues arise for copyrighted works on the Internet, such as email, Web pages, and private lists. The University of New Hampshire law school discusses these issues and other implications of copyright and fair use online.
- Creating Multimedia: All sorts of touchy subjects arise, if you want to incorporate someone else’s copyrighted work into your own multimedia project. This Central Michigan University article discusses the limits of fair use when using a portion of a copyrighted text, image, or video.
- Copyright and Multimedia: Here students can learn how to protect themselves when using other’s work in their multimedia projects. The page also has links to archives of fair use images, video, and audio.