In order to protect exclusive rights on original works

The purpose of copyright laws is to grant, preserve, and protect lawful rights of the creator of an original work. The copyright owner reserves rights to duplicate, distribute, display, the copyrighted work and can grant permission to a their party to use the material in such ways.  

Generally, explicit permission and condition to use the copyrighted material will be required for commercial or public use by a third party. 

In support of public education, an exception is established for educational purposes, whereas, educators may use copyrighted material following the Fair Use Guidelines of the current copyright laws (Section 107, the Copyright Act of 1976) for 1) educational purposes and 2) in-person classroom setup.

However, for the case of online courses where the communication takes place via technology at different physical locations, the educational exception under “Fair Use” does not automatically apply and educators (individual faculty or institution) are to attain permission(s) from the copyright owners. Also, The TEACH Act of 2002 only allows a limited range and methods of using copyrighted material, such as display or performance by the instructor, without digital duplication.

What Materials Are Copyrighted?

Original work creations such as (but not limited) written texts (books, poems, lecture notes, papers, etc.), graphics, photographs, art works, dances, music, videos, etc. can be copyrighted. Unless the material is developed by the government (in the U.S.), declared as copyright free or limited rights such as open educational resources, or the original copyright is expired (70 years after the death of the copyright owner) and placed in the public domain, you may assume that the material is copyrighted, even if you don’t find the copyright statements.

Copyright Decision Trees 

Copyright law protects original works of authorship and provides the creator with certain exclusive rights, subject to some exceptions and limitations. The following “Copyright Decision Tree” is designed to help faculty make informed decisions about whether using another's work is legal under copyright law.

• Copyright Decision Tree Flowchart

• TEACH Act Exemption Flowchart

• Fair Use Checklist

What Permissions Are Needed?

In order to use copyrighted materials in online courses beyond educational exceptions such as those specified in the Fair Use doctrine or the TEACH Act, a written permission from the copyright owner specifying how the material will be used and/ or distributed. For digital materials, End User License can be granted. It is the best practice to use materials that have clear indication of copyright and attain permission / license from the appropriate copyright owner. If you cannot identify and receive written permission or license from the appropriate copyright owner, you may avoid using the unknown material in your course. If you decide that you are within the Fair Use and TEACH Act guidelines, you may not need to attain permissions, but you should retain your justification for the decision, as you will be liable for the use of the material. 

How Should I Indicate Permission(s) to Use Copyrighted Materials?

If you attain written permission from the copyright owner, you can retain the documents for your records. A good practice would be to create a separate module or folder in your online course to show the documents to your students or anyone who reviews your course or audits for copyright issues. Also, if you have a permission from a single source (for example the publisher of the course textbook) for multiple artifacts used across the course, you can list and refer to the overall permission.

How Should I Prepare for QM Course Review?

Quality Matters standards include a specific review standard (SRS) 4.3 that an [effective online] course models the academic integrity expected of learners by providing both source references and permissions for use of instructional materials. Following the recommendations from Quality Matters (MarylandOnline,  2018), you will be expected to:

1. Cite the sources of instructional materials

   1. You can list appropriately formatted citations and references for each instructional material.

   2. For links to public access to online media, you can list appropriately formatted citations and references (including copyright owner and source URL) for each copyrighted material individually or in a reference list. 

   3. For journal articles, you can use the permanent link to the specific article through the Atkins Library database, and list the formal citations. and,

2. Post the permissions to use copyrighted materials alongside or beneath the material, or in a single location in Canvas or in the syllabus.

MarylandOnline, Inc. (2018). Higher Education Rubric Workbook - Standards for Course Design (6th Edition for Online and Blended Courses). MarylandOnline, Inc. 

Resources

• Copyright in Educational Setting - UNC Charlotte Office of Legal Affairs

• Copyright in the Classroom - UNC Charlotte Atkins Library

• Copyright Crash Course - University of Texas Libraries

• U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index