808.984.3620

Where can I find information dealing with copyright Issues?

What works are protected by copyright?

What is “Fair Use”?

What will MCC/UH do to enforce ownership of copyrighted materials?

United States Copyright law describes enforcement options available to the college. Penalties can include an award of monetary damages up to $100,000 per work infringed or actual damages to include the infringers profits and the copyright holders attorney’s fees, and impounding and destroying of infringed copies and the articles used to create them.

How do I get assistance in obtaining clearance on copyrighted works?

You or your representative can contact the producer(s) of the copyrighted materials directly. You can also request assistance from these organizations.

Publication Rights Clearing House

Image Archives

Academic Press Image Directory

The Journal

Project ACORN

Motion Picture Licensing Corporation

The Harry Fox Agency, Inc.

Check out the World Wide Web. Many newspapers have archives of their past issues on the web.

The US Copyright Office

How does a work become copyrighted?

Before January 1, 1978, a work had to be published to be copyrighted. Since that date, any work expressed in paper or electronic form is automatically copyrighted as soon as it is created. Registration with the Copyright Office is not required, although it is beneficial if there are disputes later on. In the U.S., a copyright symbol is not mandatory, but it is recommended.

How long does a copyright last?

Created on or after 1/1/1978

    The life of the author plus 70 years

Created before 1/1/1978 (published)

    28 years plus a renewal term of 47 years

Created before 1/1/1978 (unpublished)

    The life of the author plus 70 years

For works by an anonymous author or an author who uses a fictitious name (pseudonymous) as well as works “made for hire” such as a publication written by an employee of a company, the copyright lasts 120 years from the date of creation or 95 years from the date of publication, whichever is shorter.

How do I get permission to use someone else’s work?

Ask for it. If you know who the copyright owner is, contact the owner directly.

Who has the right to copyright material?

Generally, the individual creating the materials has the right to copyright them. However, MCC/UH employees may be required as a condition of employment to assign intellectual property they develop (unless unrelated to their work assigned or created without using MCC/UH facilities) to MCC/UH. These materials may require copyright in the name of MCC/UH.

Who has the right to give up copyrighted material?

The decision to put copyrighted work into the public domain, if the material was developed as a work for hire or was created using MCC/UH facilities or resources, is Maui Community College/The University of Hawaii.

If the copyright owner charges for permission to use their work, who pays?

Contact your department chair.

What do we do regarding copyright for federally funded works?

MCC/UH can copyright works arising from federally funded research unless the funding grant contains restrictions.

What happens if faculty does not follow copyright policy?

MCC faculty may expose themselves and The University of Hawaii to liability for infringement. In addition, faculty may even be subject to discipline in limited circumstances.

What about The World Wide Web?

 

The Act is divided into 5 major sections:
Title I, the “WIPO Copyright and Performances and Phonograms Treaties Implementation Act of 1998”, implements the WIPO treaties.

Title II, the “Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act”, creates limitations on the liability of online service providers for copyright infringement when engaging in certain types of activities.

Title III, the “Computer Maintenance Competition Assurance Act”, creates an exemption for making a copy of a computer program by activating a computer for purposes of maintenance or repair.

Tile IV, contains six miscellaneous provisions, relating to the functions of the Copyright Office, distance education, the exceptions in the Copyright Act for libraries making ephemeral recordings, “web-casting” of sound recordings on the Internet, and the applicability of collective bargaining agreement obligations in the case of transfers of rights in motion pictures.

Title V, the “Vessel Hull Design Protection Act”, creates a new form of protection for the design of vessel hulls.

What do we need to do to use a picture on a web page?

Permission is required from the individual who took the picture. If the picture is of individual people, model releases should be obtained.

Who can I contact regarding copyright violations?

The Media Center has established procedures to ensure program materials and content comply with and is in accordance to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, Public Law 105-304. The Center reports copyright infringement (this includes, but is not limited to, duplication, audio and video programming, web-page development, or content delivered via computer servers on the MCC domain) to appropriate authorities.

 

If you believe that your copyrighted work is being infringed upon, please notify:

 

Robert Albert

Coordinator

MCC Media Center

Maui Community College

 

Phone: 808-984-3620

Fax: 808-984-3660

 

U.S. Mail:

Maui Community College

Media Center

310 Kaahumanu Avenue

Kahului, Hawaii 96732

 

Content of Notice

 

The DMCA requires that all notices of alleged copyright infringement be in writing. For MCC to act on your notice, you must be authorized to enforce copyrights that you allege have been infringed. When informing the Center of an alleged copyright infringement, you should:

 

1. Identify the copyrighted work that allegedly has been infringed. If multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are involved, please provide a representative list of such works on that site.

2. Describe the material that is claimed to be infringing and provide sufficient information to permit MCC to locate that material.

3. Provide your contact information, including an address, telephone number, and if available, an email address.

4. Certify or include a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use if copyright-protected material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, the owners agent, or law.

5. Certify that the information that you have provided MCC is accurate. You should attest under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to enforce copyrights that you allege have been infringed.

6. Include your physical or electronic signature.

 

The Media Center may not be able to act upon your complaint promptly or at all if you do not provide this information.

 

U.S. Copyright Law and MCC Media Center Policy

 

For more information on U.S. Copyright law and the DMCA, consult the website of the U.S. Copyright Office.

What is “Fair Use” and how does it apply to me?

The “fair use” exemption to (U.S.) copyright laws was created to allow things such as commentary, parody, news reporting, research and education about copyrighted works without the permission of the author. Fair use is usually a short excerpt and almost always attributed. (One should not use more of the work than is necessary to make the commentary) It should not harm the commercial value of the work -- in the sense of people no longer needing to buy it (which is another reason why the reproduction of the entire work is prohibited.)

Facts and ideas can’t be copyrighted, but their expression and structure can. You can always write the facts in your own words. There are four factors considered in determining whether or not a use without permission is “fair”.

The U.S. Copyright Office holds some guidelines for educational purposes:

Limitations on exclusive rights on the use of:

Standards of fair use under judicial decision and which are stated in Section 107 of the Copyright Revision Bill.

FAIR USE GUIDELINES

I. Single Copying for Teachers

A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class: (A) A chapter from a book; (B) An article from a periodical or newspaper; (C) A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work; (D) A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper;

II. Multiple Copies for Classroom Use

Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion; provided that: (A) The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined below; and (B) Meets the cumulative effect test as defined below; and (C) Each copy includes a notice of copyright.

Definitions of Brevity: (i) Poetry: (a) A complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages or, (b) from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words. (ii) Prose: (a) Either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words, or (b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words. [Each of the numerical limits stated in “i” and “ii” above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.] (iii) Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue. (iv) “Special” works: Certain works in poetry, prose or in “poetic prose” which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety. Paragraph “ii” above notwithstanding such “special works” may not be reproduced in their entirety; however an excerpt compromising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10% of the words found in the text thereof, may be reproduced.

Spontaneity (i) The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and (ii) The inspiration and decision to use the work at the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.

Cumulative Effect (i) The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made. (ii) Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term. (iii) There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during the class term. [The limitations stated in “ii” and “iii” above shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.]

III. Prohibitions

As to I and II above notwithstanding any of the above, the following shall be prohibited: (A) Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts there from are accumulated or reproduced and used separately. (B) There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be “consumable” in the course of study or of teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable material. (C) Copying shall not: (a) substitute for the purchase of books, publishers’ reprints or periodicals; (b) be directed by higher authority; (c) be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term. (D) No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.

GUIDELINES FOR OFF-AIR RECORDING OF BROADCAST PROGRAMMING FOR  EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES

The following guidelines reflect the Negotiating Committee’s consensus as to the application of “fair use” to the recording, retention, and use of television broadcast programs for educational purposes. They specify periods of retention and use of such off-air recordings in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction and for homebound instruction. The purpose of establishing these guidelines is to provide standards for both owners and users of copyrighted television programs. (1) The guidelines were developed to apply only to off-air recording by non-profit educational institutions. (2) A broadcast program may be recorded off-air simultaneously with broadcast transmission (including simultaneous cable transmission) and retained by a non-profit educational institution for a period not to exceed the first forty-five (45) consecutive calendar days after date of recording. Upon conclusion of such retention period, all off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed immediately. “Broadcast programs” are television programs transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge. (3) Off-air recordings may be used once by individual teachers in the course of relevant teaching activities, and repeated once only when instructional reinforcement is necessary, in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster, or campus, as well as in the homes of students receiving formalized home instruction, during the first ten (10) consecutive school days in the forty-five (45) day calendar day retention period. “School days” are school session days - not counting weekends, holidays, vacations, examination periods, or other scheduled interruptions - within the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period. (4) Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of, and used by, individual teachers, and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. No broadcast program may be recorded off-air more than once at the request of the same teacher, regardless of the number of times the program may be broadcast. (5) A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of teachers under these guidelines. Each such additional copy shall be subject to all provisions governing the original recording. (6) After the first ten (10) consecutive school days, off-air recordings may be used up to the end of the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period only for teacher evaluation purposes i.e., to determine whether or not to include the broadcast program in the teaching curriculum, and may not be used in the recording institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purpose without authorization. (7) Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but the recorded programs may not be altered from their original content. Off -air recordings may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations. (8) All copies of off-air recordings must included the copyright notice on the broadcast program as recorded. (9) Educational institutions are expected to establish appropriate control procedures to maintain the integrity of these guidelines.

What is copyright?

Copyright is the legal ownership of a “work”.

What about using video on a website?

Is there information available on intellectual property rights?