Copyright Issues in Teaching with Technology

Internet Resources
On the surface, it would appear that the Internet presents a whole new “can of worms” related to copyright issues. However, while ease of access and reproduction may lead one to believe that the rules are different, they really are not. E-mail messages, Internet mailing list (e.g., “listserv”) postings, the contents of web pages, icons, photographs and other digital images, FTP files, and other materials available through the Internet are fixed in a tangible medium of expression and meet all the legal requirements for copyright protection, just like any other form of intellectual property. Does the deliberate and purposeful placement of information on such a public forum as the Internet imply that copyright has been abandoned? Very clearly, the answer is no, not without an explicit statement to that effect on the part of the copyright holder (which is often someone other than the poster) (Templeton, 2004).

E-mail messages. The author of an e-mail message retains the ownership of that message. Most copyright authorities agree that a person-to-person message can be saved, printed, and forwarded to a limited group of other individuals interested in the same subject without the permission of the originator under the concept of “implied license,” but implied license does not extend to reposting that personal message to a listserv. For example, a professor should not redirect a personal message from a student to the course listserv without the student’s consent. Moreover, forwarding a message received via one listserv or newsgroup to another without permission may also extend beyond the boundaries of implied license, if the forwarded message is likely to reach an essentially different audience or is sent through a different distribution system. When in doubt, ask permission before you forward.

Subscribers to a listserv normally grant to the list owner the right to archive the postings, often on a web site, so that messages can be reviewed if desired. Depending upon the list topic, access to the archive may be password-protected or otherwise restricted. Listserv postings in courses discussing sensitive or controversial topics, such as death and dying or the psychology of bisexuality, will likely be quite subdued if students know the archives are open to the public.

Archives represent the limit to which messages may be compiled. For instance, messages on a specific topic may not be collected and then republished in any form such as a printed anthology without the expressed permission of each message author.

What about the practice of including all or a portion of a received message within a reply, as a point of reference to clarify the response? As long as the portion used is not taken out of context and does not alter the originator’s intent, this appears to fall under the “comment” or “criticism” provisions of fair use. Paraphrasing elements of the original message in one’s own terms is not an infringement, because the copyright law applies only to the expression of ideas (the originator’s own text) and not to the ideas themselves. The sender of such a message has a ethical obligation to attribute the ideas to the originator and not claim credit for them.

Web pages. When you access a page on somebody’s web site, you are not viewing the page directly on that site’s server. Your browser copies all the files associated with that page (hence the long download time in some cases) into the memory of your own computer and reassembles them there for your reading enjoyment. Thus, the copying of files is an essential prerequisite before a web page can be viewed. This is how the web works. Site webmasters expect that their files will be copied for that purpose. However, this is where the line is drawn. Any additional copying, including printing and saving, must be governed by the criteria for fair use.

Copying individual pages or articles. The simple presence of Print and Save buttons on your browser tool bar should not imply that all web pages are fair game. The Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems (CETUS), a joint project of the California State University, State University of New York (SUNY), and City University of New York (CUNY), has published a fair use handbook that addresses this issue, among others. CETUS (1995) suggests that the copying of a short Internet document for personal use, including research, likely falls within fair use but urges faculty to consider all four fair use criteria on a case-by-case basis. The CETUS handbook does not discuss making multiple copies of Internet publications for distribution to students, such as incorporation in coursepacks. The guidelines and recommendations for other printed materials (see above) are equally applicable to web documents and other files retrieved from the Internet.

The fair use criteria are particularly important when you consider copying from web sites that are password-protected and open only to subscribers or members, or sites that contain documents that are available commercially.

Use of copyrighted materials in your own web pages. The use of copyrighted materials in the development of course and personal web pages presents a different set of issues. You must be certain that the materials you incorporate into your web site are either licensed appropriately or are justified under fair use. Be especially careful about copying images, such as photographs, logos, and icons from the web and inserting them into your site. Yahoo provides links to hundreds of web sites that offer web graphics for your use, but read the licensing agreements carefully. Some are available without restriction, while others require attribution and still others charge for these resources. And don’t ever, ever, EVER download anything from a Disney site and use it in your course without the appropriate permission!!

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