Frequently Asked Questions

Copyright Concerns
Reproducing Graphics
CD Copying When Systems Slow
Miscellaneous Questions

Copyright Concerns

1. Are we interpreting 17.1.107 correctly?

• Is what we're doing considered "teaching"? YES
• Is our use under the category of "nonprofit" educational purposes? YES
• Is the "amount and substantiality of the portion used" relevant?

2. Do we need to credit anything we quote directly? Do we need a complete bibliography for everything?
GOOD to DO

3. If we alter the content, do we need to credit the original source? YES

4. Can you copyright a concept or a method? For example, if we find a four-step process and add two steps, so it now becomes our “six step process, do we need to credit? What about the “STAR” acronym used in behavioral interviewing?

5. Can phrases such as “ constructive criticism” or “Clarifying and confirming” be copyrighted? If so, can we use them if we credit the source, or would we also have to have permission? NO

6. Do we need to get permission only when that requirement is specified along with the original material (e.g. The Telephone Doctor)? NO

7. Can we purchase materials and use them in conjunction with other things? (e.g. the Telephone Doctor manual used in our Telephone Customer Service Skills Workshop along with other handouts, etc.) YES

8. What’s the expectation regarding the use of instruments, assessment tools, etc.? (e.g. The Thomas Kilman instrument used in the Conflict Management Seminar).

9. If it’s on the Internet, do you still need to credit the source and/or purchase it?

10. How do you handle print or Internet material that may not be the original source? What if you’re not sure about the original source? Is it sufficient to credit where you got it?

11. Are these issues to be concerned about related to our “Seven Habits for Success: program?

• Using passages from the book
• Using passages from the Covey program
• Name of the program being similar to the name of the book
• Existence of a copyrighted program of a similar nature that requires an instructor to be certified in order to teach it YES

12. Is it true that works prior to 1978 are not protected by copyright? NO

13. Do the same rules that apply to printed materials (handouts, participant manuals, etc.) also apply to PowerPoint presentations or overheads that may or may not also be handed out as printed materials? YES

14. Videotape concerns:

• What if the tape was purchased by another company and is now in your possession?
• What if the tape was purchased and copied, and now the original is gone? OK

15. Does it matter who the audience is (e.g. whether entirely our own employees or whether it includes anyone from the general public)? YES

16. Are we considered “nonprofit” even when we charge a registration fee? YES

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Reproducing Graphics

Question: I have the impression courts in the US disagree on this, depending on where you are in the US, can somebody elaborate? I have quite a bunch of Dutch works published between 1909 and 1923, that I want to put on-line in the US, but are definitely not PD in the rest of the world.
Answer: by University Counsel Terence P. McElwee, Attorney

I am providing the information in an outline format, rather than narrative or explanatory format. I welcome any correction.

1. Any work that was first published outside of the U.S. before July 1, 1909: in the public domain.
2. Any work that was first published outside of the U.S. from July 1, 1909 to Dec. 31, 1997:

• With valid copyright notice:

o July 1, 1909 to Dec. 31, 1922: in the public domain (75-year term)
o Jan. 1923 to Dec. 31, 1963: 95-year term. Many works that were in the public domain due to non-renewal had their copyright protection restored due to GATT. Very few works remain in the public domain.
o Jan. 1, 1964 to Dec.31, 1977: 95-year term.

• Without valid copyright notice:
• In states of Ninth Circuit (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington):
  • July1, 1909 to Dec. 31, 977: Treated as unpublished works and receive the same term as the unpublished works in the U.S.
• In states outside of Ninth Circuit:

  July 1, 1909 to Dec. 31, 1977: Two ways:
  1) Follow Ninth Circuit’s ruling.
  2) Ignore Ninth Circuit’s ruling which in this case, it is same as 2A above.
  (The devil is Twin Books v. Walt Disney Co., 83 F.3d 1162 (9th Cir. 996).)

3. Any work that was first published outside of the U.S. on or after Jan. 1, 1978 (regardless of whether it has or does not have copyright notice): Same as any work that is published in the U.S. on or after 3-1-1989. Notice that the foreign works that was in the public domain before 3-1-1989 due to lack of copyright notice had their copyright protection restored due to GATT.

Number of days left until 1-1-2019 when all knowledge of 1923 in the land of the U.S.A. will be freed from their copyright owners’ prisons: 6,481
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Information gleaned from The Public Domain: How to Find & Use Copyright-Free Writings, Music, Art & More by Attorney Stephen Fishman. None of the above is legal advice.

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CD Copying When Systems Slow

If the system is slow, can we copy the files to CD and distributed the CD to our classmates?

More Questions from the Library

1. Does e-reserve = distance education?
2. Is it safer to offer links than to scan?
3. How long can an article be kept up if scanned?
4. What does transferring from analog to digital mean?
5. What are your rights to your own publications?
6. How many pages of a book can be scanned?
7. If you received an article from ILL, can it go on e-reserve without further permission?
8. Can you include in a PowerPoint presentation parts of an electronic journal?
9. Can you include a cartoon/picture in a talk if you give credit or cite source?
10. How do you go about getting permission?
11. Are the rules different if you’re using a controlled site such as Blackboard?
12. Can I scan something I downloaded from an electronic version?
13. How do I link directly to an electronic article?
14. If I receive a document through InfoQuick can I make multiple copies for students?
15. Is it possible to post from a web page an actual copy of an article (i.e. an acrobat or html file) downloaded from a journal page rather than a link to the article?

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