Copyright and Fair Use

I had several conversations with teachers this summer about copyright protection and what constitutes fair use of someone's material.  The big misconception I've seen among teachers in our district is that putting materials behind a password (like in Blackboard) means that we don't have to worry about copyright restrictions.  This is patently not true: it's like stealing a car and hiding it in your garage instead of parking it in your driveway.  It makes it less likely that you'll get caught, but it's still not the right way to get around town.

A large part of the problem is that "Fair Use" is an inherently fuzzy concept.  The fair-use provision of copyright law does not provide specific definitions for what is or is not fair use.  Instead, it lays out guidelines for what kinds of factors a court might consider when deciding when a particular use is covered under "Fair Use".  Ultimately, "Fair Use" is what a court decides it is.

Here are three resources that explore copyright and fair use in more depth:

• Short and to the point, emphasis on fair use: www.cwu.edu/~pierckat/copyright.html
• A little bit longer, but more comprehensive: www.gcflearnfree.org/useinformationcorrectly/module/12
• A six-minute sorta-cheesy cartoon, but worth watching: www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/05/copyright-on-campus-six-minute.html#.UfcuUI0m0dV

As we implement Common Core, with resources developed in states all over the country, it is important for teachers to remember applicable copyright laws, so we can model appropriate behavior for our students.