The ATS Copyright Policy
Effects on Instructional Materials
Background
- In response to accreditation requirements, the Board of Trustees had our institutional lawyers draw up a policy manual to provide the institution and its members protection against copyright violation litigation
- Timeline
- November 2004: the Board of Directors passed a new copyright policy
- February 2005: Joel Green charged Information Services with implementing the new policy
- February-May 2005: Interpretation of the policy began and stages of implementation were arranged
- May 2005: Copyright guidelines for print resources were presented by Ken Boyd in the faculty plenary session
- April 2005: The Copyright Management Center (CMC) was created to review reserve and media requests for copyright compliance
- Summer 2005: “Practice run” for Fall compliance
Confusion & Frustration
- If you have tried to put items on reserve or requested ExL media this summer or fall, you may have run into some of the implications of the adoption of this new policy, and now you are confused by the changes.
- Perhaps you've had thoughts similar to these:
- I use the same materials each semester - why wasn't my request automatically renewed?
- I need the material on reserve sent out by tomorrow - why can't it be sent out that quickly? Why does it take so long?
- Why does some of the ExL media that's been fine so far have to be redone?
- This makes things so much harder, and it ultimately hurts the students.
The purpose of this presentation is to give some basic guidelines for what is permissible, a straightforward process for submitting your requests, and generally providing a clearer understanding of what implications the adoption of this new policy has.
Preliminaries
- Do you want to know.
- if materials you've used repeatedly in the past will still be permissible to use?
- if you can distribute a photocopy of an article in your class?
- if you can make available to your students that essay you just found that would address the questions they raised last class period?
- and more...
- Stop by or call the FIC
- or better yet, make an appointment & bring your syllabus
- You may also contact your faculty secretary—they've briefed & can use us as a resource too.
- We'll discuss your questions and concerns & work with you
Basic Guidlines
- What is required material?
- Material either listed as a required text or used for a required assignment
- Why is this important?...
- Only recommended materials may go on reserve
- Why? Making required materials widely & freely available creates potential loss of sales for publisher (copyright code terminology: cumulative effect)
- Exceptions (possible scenarios for required material on reserve):
- Permission obtained from publisher (or other copyright holder)
- Spontaneous instance: during the course of instruction, the professor wants to make clarifying material available (copyright code terminology: instance & inspiration)
- How do I obtain copyright permission? Well, actually you don't have to, rather.
- Submit a course packet request to the bookstore and they will seek permissions
OR - Submit a reserve request form to the FIC—we will seek permissions if necessary to allow use
- Submit a course packet request to the bookstore and they will seek permissions
- Boxes will no longer go on reserve to discourage unlawful photocopying by students, instead.
- The electronic files of student papers (their permission obtained), original PowerPoints (containing no copyrighted material), or the like should be posted to the Supplement Texts folder in the Course Center of the class's icon
- Previously-used requests do not renew automatically
- Please submit anew each semester
- Submitting electronically benefits you: save the file for future use & as your own record
- Summary
- Plan on the need to obtain permissions for the materials you want to use:
- Request a course packet from the bookstore to be sold along with other texts, or
- Submit a reserve request to FIC—if materials cannot be used as is or accessed by alternative methods, permissions will be sought
- Plan on the need to obtain permissions for the materials you want to use:
What if, despite all my pre-planning, I come across something later that I decide I want to use in my class?
Basic Guidlines: Fair Use
- To be used under Fair Use conditions (i.e., without obtaining permissions), materials need to meet three criteria:
- Brevity
- Spontaneity
- Cumulative Effect
- If all criteria are met then instructor can use the material one time only. For future use, permission will need to be obtained.
- Brevity
- Text: No more than 10% or 1000 words; complete article, story, or essay of less than 2,500 words
- Motion Media: No more than 10% or 3 minutes
- Music: No more than 10% or 30 seconds
- Illustrations: No more than 5 images from an artist; 10% or 15 images from published work
- Spontaneity
- At the instance and inspiration of the instructor
- Defined as one week before classroom use
- Cumulative effect
- Copying of material for only one course in the institution
- No more than one article or two excerpts from same author
- No more than three articles from the same work, collective work or periodical volume
- No more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during class term
Process: Requesting Reserve & ExL Media materials
- Submit request(s) by prescribed date
- Attach to an email addressed to Faculty Info Commons:
- appropriate form(s)—located presently in FirstClass: Faculty News-›Faculty Info-›ATS Forms-›Faculty Forms or A-Team-›A-Team Info (or ask us to attach it to an email for you)—one for each class
- syllabus for each class
- Deadlines: October 1 for J-term & Spring, February 1 for Summer, and May 1 for Fall
- Attach to an email addressed to Faculty Info Commons:
- The CMC will review the request
- If material can be used as is, you will be notified that it had been sent on for processing (material will be available, at the latest, 5 business days after approval—you will be notified if problems arise)
- If material cannot be used as is, you will be notified of alternative methods of access. If none are available, we will automatically seek permissions and you will be notified of the response
Process: Requesting a Course Packet
- Submit request to the Cokesbury bookstore
- Their form is in FirstClass: Faculty News-›Faculty Info-›ATS Forms-›Faculty Forms or A-Team-›A-Team Info
- Attach completed form to an email addressed to ATS Bookstore
- Their due date is at least eight weeks prior to the start of the semester
Process: Media Production
- Attach a completed form to an email addressed to Faculty Info Commons
- Form located presently in FirstClass: Faculty News-›Faculty Info-›ATS Forms-›Faculty Forms or A-Team-›A-Team Info
- Deadlines for scheduling (not completing) production are October 1 for J-term & Spring, February 1 for Summer, and May 1 for Fall
What materials can be used?
- Materials copyrighted by the Seminary
- Materials for which permissions have been obtained
- Public domain: published before 1923
- Materials available on the internet (using links posted in the course center)
- Student may purchase/rent multimedia (think iTunes › Netflix or the like)
Other Implications
- Not just for reserves—also concerns copyrighted material in:
- ExL media
- Syllabi
- Lecture PowerPoints
- Why are the deadlines so early?
- Each request needs to be reviewed before being processed
- May need to seek copyright permission
- Gives you time to adapt if permissions are denied
- Increased scanning and media production activity to meet the needs created by some of the new copyright policy limits
- Each request needs to be reviewed before being processed
- Please by aware:
- When the FIC seeks permissions, we will seek them for the broadest possible use
- Publishers may not grant such broad use
- Publishers may not grant any use
- Materials for which permission is being sought will be put on reserve once request has been sent to publisher—if permissions are denied, materials will be immediately removed & you will be notified
- When the FIC seeks permissions, we will seek them for the broadest possible use
Final Thoughts
- The Faculty Info Commons is your resource for instructional support, which includes helping to interpret copyright policy.
- If you have any questions or concerns please call us at x2300 or e-mail Faculty Info Commons. We are here to help you.
- FIC Team:
- Jay Endicott, Joy Mark, Alex Miller