Use of Copyrighted Materials

Contents

  1. Introduction
  2. CSU, Chico Copyright Policies
  3. Copyright Basics
  4. Copyright, Teaching and Fair Use
  5. The TEACH Act
  6. Investigating Copyrights: the steps
  7. Obtaining Permission
  8. Copyright Ownership/Registering Copyright
  9. Copyright Law-Primary Document
  10. Public Domain
  11. News, Current Issues and History

(1) Introduction

Each member of the CSU, Chico community is responsible for understanding and complying with US copyright laws. CSU Chico faculty, staff and students also must consider the copyright and intellectual property policies of the Chico campus, as well as the CSU system. The purpose of this website is to provide links to relevant information about US copyright law, as well as CSU, Chico's copyright policies and guidelines.

(2) CSU, Chico Copyright Policies

CSU, Chico copyright and intellectual property policy is found in three Executive Memoranda:
  • EM 75-10 Policy for Use of Media
  • EM 83-08 Policy for Patents & Copyrights
  • EM 97-07 CSU, Chico Intellectual Property Policy

Other relevant sources of information include:

  • "A Practical Guide to Intellectual Property Rights, California State University, Chico"
  • EM97-18 "Policy on Use of Computing and Communications Technology"
  • A site about intellectual property at Chico.
  • A 2003 report from the Task Force on Intellectual Property of the Academic Senate of the California State University (CSU): "Guidance for CSU Policies on Intellectual Property. Intellectural Property, Fair Use, and the Unbundling of Ownership Rights."
  • A Guide to Graduate Studies: Policies, Procedures, & Format. See pages 20-22 for copyright restrictions for Master theses and projects.

On campus you can contact Brooke Banks in Information Resources who deals with general issues of copyright. Ms. Banks is also our designated agent to comply with the Digital Millenium Copyright Act (DMCA) She is the "Agent to receive notification of claimed infringement at California State University, Chico." Her email address is bfbanks@csuchico.edu
For the CSU system, Christine Helwick is the General Counsel, at the Office of the General Counsel, 400 Golden Shore, 4th floor , Long Beach, CA 90802

(3) Copyright Basics

A Book: Copyright Essentials for Librarians and Educators by Ken Crews: KF2995 .C74 2006 (Reference). First edition is in the Main collection.

(4) Copyright, Teaching and Fair Use

(5) The TEACH Act

For a collection of web sites about the Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (the TEACH Act) see http://www.csuchico.edu/lcmt/teachact/index.htm

(6) Investigating Copyrights: the steps

The IUPUI's Copyright Management Center provides a thorough and richly linked list of steps to follow in determining if you need to secure copyright to use a work, and how to get permission if you need it. This is a wonderful webpage for anyone who has to deal with copyright!!!

The University of Texas provides a list of steps to follow to decide whether you need permission to use a copyrighted work. http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/copypol2.htm#test

(7) Obtaining Permission

There are businesses that can secure copyright permissions for you, for a fee, or you can do it yourself.

For text based materials The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) will obtain copyright permissions for a fee. To secure rights for other types of materials like musical works, see the list of collective rights agencies at the IUPUI's Copyright Management Center website. Xanedu.com now also offers a copyright clearance service to their customers.

If you want to get permission yourself, a handout with instructions on how to do this is available in the Technology and Learning Program (TLP) lab in the basement of the library (MLIB 003). A model permission letter is included in the handout.
The permission letter was derived from a CETUS booklet, "Fair Use of Copyrighted Works" ( © 1995 by CETUS) a website on copyright by the University of Tennessee, both of which are no longer available online.
The IUPUI website also has instructions on how to obtain permisssion.

Book: Getting Permission. How to License and Clear Copyrighted Materials Online and Off.(2000) By Richard Stim. (This is a Nolo Press book). KF3024 C6 S75 2000. (Main)

(8) Copyright Ownership/Registering Copyright

The US Copyright Office has a website with instructions on how to register your works.

The information on IUPUI's Copyright Management Center website is aimed at the IUPUI community, but provides helpful information for anyone interested in this topic.

(9) Copyright Law-Primary Documents

 If you want to see the primary documents for US copyright Law go here: http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ Look down the list and you'll see Copyright Law under Title 17.
For an alternate source see: “Copyright Law of the United States” at www.copyright.gov/title17/ from the US Copyright Office. For a version with historical and revision notes see http://www.access.gpo.gov/uscode/title17/title17.html

(10) Public Domain

Several charts are available on the web that show "When Works Pass Into the Public Domain."
The first is by Lolly Gasaway, Professor of Law and Director of the Law Library at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm
The second was originally published by Peter Hirtle and is available at http://www.copyright.cornell.edu/training/Hirtle_Public_Domain.htm

(11) News, Current Issues, and History

News and Current Issues:

CSU Fair Use Manual
In July, 2007 the CSU Office of General Counsel posted on its website a new manual on the fundamentals of Copyright and Fair Use:   http://www.calstate.edu/gc/Docs/Fair_Use.doc 
In their announcement they said, "University Counsel assigned to your campus are available to respond to questions in this area."

2006 CELT Conference Presentation on Copyright
http://www.csuchico.edu/lcmt/celt.ppt

White Paper
The Digital Learning Challenge: Obstacles to Educational Uses of Copyrighted Material in the Digital Age. (from the Berkman Center) August, 2006
http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/media/files/copyrightandeducation.htmlThe information on these page is not legal advice. It is for informational purposes only. If you are seeking advice for your particular needs, you should consult a lawye

History:
Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright, University of Maryland University College. The interactive materials in their "Primer" includes historical background materials about copyright.Latman, Alan. (1986) Latman's, The Copy Law. 6th ed.. If you want to go over the defining court cases for copyright look here. The book also starts with a brief history and overview of the constitutional basis of copyright. KF2994L381986 (Main)

On November 2nd, 2002 President Bush signed the "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act" (The TEACH Act) into law.

On October 28, 1998 President Clinton signed the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) into law. The act was an attempt to expand copyright regulation into the digital environment.. You can see a good summary on the DMCA by the US Copyright Office at this link: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/dmca.pdf  If you want to see the whole 94 page DMCA go to: http://www.loc.gov/copyright/legislation/hr2281.pdf
The UCLA Online Institute for Cyberspace Law and Policy has a web page with more information on the DMCA.

Send comments to James Tyler
jtyler@csuchico.edu
Last Updated: 25-Jul-2007 3:07 PM