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| Durham Tech Home > Library Home > Guidelines for Complying with Copyright Law Index |
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| I. Introduction and Discussion | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| A. Source of Guidelines | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Durham Technical Community College has adopted these copyright
guidelines pursuant to the State Board of N.C. Community Colleges' Policy
and Public Law 553 and Title 17, United States Code, which was enacted
in 1976.
The State Board of Community Colleges has declared that the policy of the N.C. Community College System’s 58 colleges is to adhere to applicable portions of federal copyright law. Although some uncertainty exists in both the interpretation of some aspects of the existing law and the application of new and developing technology, the Board’s policy represents the System’s effort to promote legal compliance. The act of copying in itself facilitates and is critical to Durham Tech’s goal to “implement and utilize appropriate technology that enhances efficiency and effectiveness of instruction and support services.” Photocopying helps to disseminate information to faculty, staff, and students on-campus and off-campus, in person, and in virtual learning situations. Copying of copyrighted materials, however, is a right granted under the federal copyright law doctrine of “fair use” and should not be abused. The State Board and Durham Tech have encouraged faculty and staff to use common sense in complying with federal copyright law. Durham Tech does not knowingly condone policies or practices that constitute an infringement of federal copyright law. The State Board has directed that colleges provide their faculty, staff, and students with guidelines that clearly discourage violation of federal copyright law. Refer to the Appendix for specific language from the Employee Handbook. Faculty, staff, and students should exercise sound judgment and consult public laws to determine what constitutes permissible copying under the law and secure applicable permission whenever it is legally necessary. The State Board’s policy, like copyright law, applies to all forms of copying, whether undertaken at a college copying facility, a commercial copying center, self-service machine, or computer. |
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| B. Purpose of Guidelines | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure that Durham Tech faculty, staff, students, and any public users have basic access to information regarding federal copyright law. Our information-rich society often leads one to believe that all published information is essentially "free." Title 17 of the United States Code tells us quite the contrary. Reasonable restrictions do exist on copyrighted books, documents, music, Internet sites, and a multitude of other formats. These guidelines are but a brief description of the full federal copyright laws. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| C. Basis of Copyright Law | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The basis of copyright is to give credit to the author of a work or document or image that such said work is their actual property. The property owner under federal copyright law has reasonable rights to enjoy financial gain and control over the private and public use of the copyrighted work(s) for a lengthy and fair period of time. This balance between control and access should encourage the dissemination of intellectual works to the general public. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| D. Penalties for Violating Copyright Law | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Those who violate federal copyright law do so at their own
financial risk. Copyright owners have solid legal standing if violations
of copyright can be proven. Court action may also be taken to prevent
further copyright abuses.
The Copyright Act, however, specifically exempts from damages employees of non-profit educational institutions or libraries who believed or had reasonable grounds to believe that his/her use of the copyrighted work was in fair use. |
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| E. Preliminary Matters | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Assume Material is Copyrighted | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Copyright status is applied to a work as soon as it is created. No © symbol or additional symbols or any markings are necessary, but registration with the U.S. Copyright Office is strongly suggested. Therefore, the user should assume that all writings and images, particularly those dated 1906 or later, are copyrighted. Once officially registered, the copyright has an extended life: the life of the author plus 75 years. After that period of time, the copyright status may be renewed for additional years with little or no public notice given. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Validating That Material is Copyrighted | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Copyright Office Circular R22 explains how to investigate the copyright status of a work. You may request that the Copyright Office conduct a search of its registration records for a fee. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 3. Post Copyright Notices | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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Notice of copyright restrictions should be posted at all photocopiers
and public printers (Appendix);
Internet access computer screens (Appendix);
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| F. General Rule That Fair Use is Permitted | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| The Copyright Act limits the rights of a copyright holder
by allowing students, researchers, and instructors to use, without express
permission, copyrighted materials “fairly.” Educational users
should find out whether the use made of a work in any particular case
is a “fair use.” Likewise, you must consider the purpose and
character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of
the copyrighted work used, and the effect of the use upon the potential
market for or value of the copyrighted work. The following examples detail the application of these limited rights: |
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| 1. What is the purpose, character, nature, and other areas of the work? | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Different works will have different purposes, characters, natures, and
the following scale gives examples of those differences:
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| 2. How much of the work will you use? | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| G. Getting Permission | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| If your intended use exceeds “fair use,” you need to obtain permission from the copyright holder. If you are in doubt as to whether a particular instance of photocopying is "fair use," you should seek permission from either the publisher or the Copyright Clearance Center. Some publishers will cooperate and waive fees for some uses. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1. Publisher | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| You may seek a publisher’s permission using the standard letter set forth in the Appendix. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2. Copyright Clearance Center | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) also has the authority to grant permission and collect fees for photocopying rights for certain publications. Libraries may copy from any journal that is registered with the CCC, report the copying beyond "fair use" to the CCC and pay the set fee. Go to www.copyright.com for more information. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| H. Charging for Copying | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Durham Tech administrative officials (the President and/or Board of Trustees) will decide how much to charge students and the general public for copies. Faculty and staff must pay for all personal copies that they make. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| I. Attribution and Acknowledgement | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Educators and students should always credit the source(s) that they use by citing the author, title, publisher, place and date of publication, the copyright notice ©, year of first publication, name of the copyright holder, and any other pertinent information.
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