Quote #1, Major Theme:
“While there are a few well defined use cases in which the use of copyrighted material is definitely legal or definitely illegal in the US, there is a large gulf of practices that fall somewhere in between. In those cases, the definitive ruling of legal/illegal comes only when the copyright holder sues the party using the material and a judge rules on it. That’s incredibly unhelpful for those of us making use of copyrighted materials in our own work, but this flexibility is there in order to allow for informed reason to prevail in situations that could not be anticipated in detail by lawmakers.”
Shaffer, Kris. “Copyright for Instructors.” UMW DTLT, November 22, 2016. http://umwdtlt.com/copyright-for-instructors/
This quote from Shaffer’s article “Copyright for Instructors” summarizes how copyrighted materials are used in in other mediums, but there are restrictions that make it difficult to do so. Piracy and other illegal practices make it difficult for educators to use copyright materials in the classroom or online. They often have to walk a fine line when it comes to what can be shown to students. Before a court would make a decision, it would have to be decided if the sources had a purpose, nature, amount, and effect. For example, a teacher posting “Avengers” online for students to watch wound’t fall in the “legal” category.
Quote #2, A Question:
“Most people will tell you that if your quote is less than 10% of the work, and either less than a full book chapter or less than 30 seconds of audio/video, you’re good. However, note that not everyone recommends the same things, and the won’t-get-you-sued standard and the won’t-get-you-found-liable standard can be very different. In some cases, reproducing the entire work is fair use.”
Shaffer, Kris. “Copyright for Instructors.” UMW DTLT, November 22, 2016. http://umwdtlt.com/copyright-for-instructors/
This quote was very powerful but I was honestly confused from its meaning. If its recommended that the quote or audio be less than 10% of the work, why isn’t there a set amount of work that can be used freely? As in, if I can reproduce an entire work, depending on the circumstances, why can the authors use their rights and sue if it can be duplicated freely?
Quote #3, A Point Worth Exploring:
“The Copyright Act doesn’t define dramatic or non-dramatic, so we have to look to other sources. According to Nimmer on copyright, a dramatic work is “‘a written or literary work invented and set in order’ in which the narrative is not related but is represented by dialogue and action.” It is “a work in which the narrative is told by dialogue and action, and the characters go through a series of events which tell a connected story…”
“Creative Commons, Copyleft, and Other Licenses” from Copyright and Intellectual Property Toolkit, Univ. of Pittsburgh Library System: https://pitt.libguides.com/copyright/caniuseit
Since the Copyright Act doesn’t define dramatic or non-dramatic, there isn’t a defined list of things that educators can use. They have to look at a source and decide if it’s dramatic or not in hopes to not get sued. The TEACH act says that a source must be an integral part of the classroom session for instruction activities. It would be interesting to know what sources can be used in the classroom, either in-person or online, that wouldn’t land educators in hot water.
