SolveYourProblem Article Series: Copyrights
I Need To Understand Copyright Law
What
Is Education Copyright Law?
It is a wonderful thing that Education Copyright
Law is available for educators. It isn’t only teachers that
can take advantage of education copyright law. Students are
also covered under education copyright law -- to a degree.
Teachers are able to use copyrighted materials in their classroom
and make copies of them. Students are also able to use copyrighted
materials in school projects. The key to education
copyright law is how often a teacher or student uses copyrighted
material, in what way they are using it and how many copies they have
of it. It is important that teachers and students do not cross
the line of education copyright law or they could be in for
some stiff penalties.
It helps many students and teachers to learn what exactly
is not copyrighted. Any work that is in the public domain is
not copyrighted and can be used in school and for school projects.
Work that is not in the public domain is copyrighted and if
you use it you should make sure you fall within the fair use
or education copyright law regulations.
Many people do not know what exactly fair
use copyright regulations are. When you are trying to see if you can use another’s words,
you should keep a few things in mind. The answer to the following
questions will help you gage whether you would be violating
a copyright. First, are you transforming someone else’s work
or are you copying it directly? If you are using another person’s
work directly, for what purpose and how much of the original
author’s work are you using? Many publishing companies have
set rules on how much material they will allow to be quoted
in other sources. Some of these ranges start at 100 words or
less. However, there are truly no standards to go by, so be
careful. You can not assume that keeping your copying fewer
than 50 words will allow you to pass under the radar – especially
if the original piece is hovering around 125 words itself!
There is a greater amount of room to maneuver when it comes
to technical writing. For instance, if you are writing a report
on something that involves a lot of reporting from an expert,
you would probably need to quote more of their work than you
would a fiction novelist’s work. The fair use copyright law
enables people to use portions of material that is copyrighted
for the purposes of criticism or as commentary.
Individuals who are involved in the distance education field
should take a look at the TEACH Act that was made into law
in 2002. This Act clearly outlines the requirements that a
university or school must be in compliance with when it comes
to transmitting copyrighted works via the Internet. The TEACH
Act allows students and teachers to transmit copyrighted works,
but they must be within certain guidelines. If the school or
university cannot meet these guidelines, the material that
is being transmitted via the Internet needs to fall within
the fair use copyright act – or the individuals involved need
to have permission from the copyright owner. If you are an
educator and you are using copyrighted material make sure it
falls within the education copyright law. # # # # # SolveYourProblem.com
: 2008
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