What is copyright?
As amended, the Copyright Act of 1976 grants to copyright owners the exclusive right to reproduce their works, prepare derivative works, distribute copies of their works, perform their works, and display them. Anyone who does one of these acts without the copyright owner's permission has infringed the copyright unless the act falls under one of the law's exceptions. The simplest way to comply with the law is to obtain the copyright owner's permission to use or reproduce the work.
Where do I go to get clearance?
duPont Library has subscribed to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC) and is responsible for obtaining copyright clearances on campus. Please contact Barbara Dykes at extension 1486 or via email at 'bdykes' to secure permissions for you.
What can be copyrighted?
Facts and ideas are not subject to copyright, but the manner in which an author expresses them is. The following types of material, either published or unpublished, may be subject to copyright:
- Any written works (books, journal articles, texts, glossaries, bibliographies, study guides, laboratory manuals, syllabi, databases, tests or forms);
- Musical works, including accompanying words;
- Dramatic works, including accompanying music;
- Films, film strips, transparencies;
- Pantomimes and choreographic works;
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works (globes, fabric, dress patterns, toys, greeting cards);
- Video and audio tapes and cassettes;
- Sound recordings;
- Architectural works; and
- Computer programs.
As of January 1, 1978, anything falling into the above categories is considered copyrighted without having it registered or posting the standard copyright notice (see below).
How long does a copyright term last?
Certain works are not protected by copyright. Publications of the federal government are generally not copyrightable, however, government agencies may have its work copyrighted. State government publications can be copyrighted and vary from state to state.
On October 27, 1998, the Sonny Bono Copyright Extension Act was signed into law. This law added 20 years to the existing copyright terms. Below is a chart showing the terms of copyright as they now exist under the new law.
Terms of Copyright
| Works published before 1923 |
Public Domain (free to reproduce unless the copyright was renewed) |
| Works created but not published or registered before January 1, 1978 |
Single author: Life of the author plus 70 years
Multiple authors: Life of the last surviving author plus 70 years
|
| Pre-1978 works still in their original or renewal term of copyright |
Expires 95 years after the date that copyright was originally secured. |
| Works created after January 1, 1978 |
Life of the author plus 70 years
Multiple authors: Life of the last surviving author plus 70 years
Anonymous & pseudonymous works and works made for hire: 95 years from the year of first publication or 120 years from the year of creation, whichever expires first.
|
All of this is quite confusing. The best thing for you is to always check with duPont Library before assuming that something is OK to photocopy. In most instances, it isn't.
Notice of Copyright
Most published works contain a notice of copyright, but the omission of such a notice does not mean that the work is not copyrighted. Common copyright notices include the symbol © (the letter c in a circle), the word "Copyright," or the abbreviation "Copr.," and the identity of the copyright owner and the date of publication. You should assume all works published within the preceding 95 years are copyrighted even if no notice is present. A copyright does not expire because a work is out of print.
Where reproduction of copyrighted materials is permitted, each copy should contain a notice of copyright, along with the book title, author name, and publisher if different from copyright holder.
What is the duration of a granted permission request?
Generally, a request is granted on a semester by semester basis. This means that every semester you have material you want to use, regardless if you have received clearance before, a new request must be submitted. This is also true if you have material that is used in more than one of your courses in a semester. For example, Dr. Brown wants to reproduce one chapter from John Grisham's The Client for use in his PS 100 and PS 200 courses. A request for each course must be submitted and approved before he (or she) may use the material.
This rule applies to photocopied reserve material as well.
How expensive is reproducing coursepacks?
Royalties vary from publisher to publisher. Permission may be granted gratis or for a fee--sometimes as much as $.25 per page per copy. Some charge a flat fee. Over the past few years, the average cost per page per copy has increased from between $.05 and $.10 to between $.16 and $22. On top of royalties you must also consider photocopying fees, binding, and a 30% mark-up by the Bookstore.
When do foreign copyrights enter the public domain?
Copyright duration varies from country to country. The term varies from life of the author plus 50 years to life of the author plus 80 years. In some cases, there are addtional stipulations to be considered. In 1996, an act was passed making copyright duration in European countries retroactive on public domain works. If you have a foreign publication you wish to use, please contact Print Services so that a request may be submitted. This is by far the best way of finding out if a foreign work, or a US work for that matter, is in the public domain or not.
If several pages from a book meet the guidelines of fair use and is used one semester, can it be considered fair use again?
Fair use is a one time deal. Once a professor uses it that one time, it can no longer be considered fair use. Fair use limits the amount of text and graphics that can be photocopied without obtaining permission. For text, the limit is 2500 words or less. For graphics, one graphic, table, or chart per publication.
In many instances, such as anthologies, fair use does not apply. Why? Most material is reprinted with permission from another source. For example, you want to use pages 17-18 from The ABCs of Teaching. Normally this would meet the guidelines of fair use. Keeping this from being fair use is a statement appearing somewhere* in the publication: "Originally published in Teaching from A to Z by Icabod Crane. Copyright © 1969 by Zippy Printing, Inc. Reproduced with permission of the publisher." In this case, fair use does not apply because the publisher of The ABCs of Teaching does not "own" the material appearing on pages 17 and 18 but is merely "borrowing" it. Therefore, permission must be obtained from the original publisher.
If you have questions regarding fair use and the material you wish to use, please contact duPont Library.
*The credit line will appear on the copyright page, the bottom of the first page of the chapter, in the acknowledgements section, or other appropriate section of the publication.
If the library owns a periodical, why do we need to get copyright clearance to place a photocopy on reserve?
Library staff will place the original periodical on reserve if you request it. If you have more than 10 students in your class, however, additional photocopies will need to be made in order accommodate the students. This means clearance will have to be obtained for those photocopies. For the preservation of the books in the library, it is best to make photocopies of the material to be placed on reserve.
