0.8 Universities and copyright  (Page 5/5)

Glossary:

License : “a grant by the holder of a copyright or patent to another of any of the rights embodied in the copyright or patent short of an assignment of all rights” (Merriam-Webster 2011)

Online teaching : classes that do not meet face-to-face, and in which all or most content is delivered through a web site or course management system such as Blackboard

Scenarios:

University

Scenario 1) Dr. Michelle Anderson, a star professor in the Anthropology department at State U., has created a multi-media learning aid for students that takes their understanding of anthropology beyond “Indiana Jones.” The images in it were from her own research and that of a colleague, and the music was found through Creative Commons. (It’s an attribution, share-alike license). The learning aid has begun to attract attention from other campuses, and Dr. Anderson’s school would like to see some of the profit. While acknowledging the idea as Dr. Anderson’s, her university has suggested that she market the product commercially and share the proceeds with the university marketing department. Does copyright law protect Dr. Anderson’s product, or favor the university?

Scenario 2) Grant’s Hill College has a web site which outlines the basic facts about copyright and emphasizes the proper use of other people’s works. They also have a copyright agent listed on the Copyright Office web site. The college’s copyright site has not been updated since 2005, when it was created. Is Grant’s Hill meeting the requirements of the DMCA? Or the Higher Education Opportunity Act?

Students

Scenario 3) Tom, a microbiology student, regularly posts his papers and lab write-ups to a university microbiology student blog. He labels them clearly, even stating that they are ungraded and could include errors. While any creator is free to give away their work, what steps could Tom take to prevent plagiarists from using his work?

Scenario 4) The senior microbiology study group has found a fantastic illustration of a certain process online. It will make their final presentation complete. It’s licensed under Creative Commons with an “Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0” license. What kind of license is this, and what does it mean for the study group?

Faculty

Scenario 5) Stephanie Davis, a graduate student in psychology, was not sure whether a handout she was planning would be a Fair Use or not. Her campus copyright officer was not available. What should she do?

Scenario 6) Professor Donovan, a faculty member in history, has been using the online course management program Blackboard for seven years to supplement his face-to-face courses. He has placed articles and images for each course in Blackboard and prefers to use the same items every time he teaches a course. Is his use of articles and images (assuming he is not the copyright owner) an infringement of copyright? Or not?

Electronic Dissertations&Theses

Scenario 7) Bill Jackson recently completed his PhD in philosophy at a distinguished university. He would like to place his dissertation online, because he made use of online dissertations during his graduate studies. However, his advisor told him that once he did so, he would lose all copyright claims to it whatsoever. “Sure the law says it’s still yours. But what are you going to do if someone uses your arguments without your permission? Do you have the resources to sue them?

Bibliography

Chapter 9) Universities

Bowling Green State University Graduate College. "Electronic Thesis and Dissertations." 2010, (External Link) .

Colorado University. "The TEACH Act Checklist." 2010, (External Link) .

Copyright Advisory Office. "Fair use Checklist." Columbia University Libraries/ Information Services 2010, (External Link) .

Creative Commons. "Creative Commons." Creative Commons 2010, (External Link) .

———. "Creative Commons Search Page." Creative Commons, accessed 12/4, 2010, (External Link) .

Crews, Kenneth D. "Instructional Materials and "Works made for Hire" at Universities: Policies and Strategic Management of Copyright Ownership." In The Center for Intellectual Property Handbook , edited by Kimberly M. Bonner, 15. New York: Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc., 2006.

Minow, Mary. "How I Learned to Love Fair use." Stanford Copyright&Fair Use 2010, (External Link) .

Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations. "Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations (NDLTD)." Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations2010, (External Link) .

Digital Millennium Copyright Act, (1998).

Higher Education Opportunity Act, (2008).

Section 110: Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays. USC Title 17, U.S. Copyright Act.

Yahoo!. "Yahoo Search - Creative Commons." Yahoo!, accessed 12/4, 2010, (External Link) .

Yale University Library Council on Library&Information Resources. "LibLicense: Licensing Digital Information." Yale University, accessed 12/4, 2010, (External Link) .