Much of the information in this section is drawn from content posted on the Web site of the U.S. Copyright Office and is based on the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. The information appears here in an edited form.
For a fuller discussion of these topics, including references to legal and other resources, visit: www.copyright.gov.
For most copyright questions, we follow an overall guide: When In Doubt, Gain Permission
The basic rules and applications of copyright are explained on the "Copyright Basics" tab of this guide - it is expected that the viewers of this Faculty specific guide ARE ALSO AWARE of the details of copyright as explained on that page, and any relevant exceptions to these rules by using the governments' available resources.
When using this guide for instructional purposes, we ask that students refrain from using this page as the information, while still accurate, may be irrelevant to student use needs.
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Universal international copyright does not exist, but the US is an acting member of the Berne Convention, which is the most widely-adopted copyright treaty in the world. Some guidelines for the applications of this are as follows:
In addition to those basics outlined on the "Copyright Basics" tab of this guide, it is also important to know for faculty and staff that:
Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism: How to Promote Good Source Use by
Plagiarism is a serious problem in higher education, and one that the majority of university teachers have encountered. This book provides the skills and resources that university teachers and learning and development support staff need in order to tackle it. As a complex issue that requires thoughtful and sensitive handling, plagiarism simply cannot be addressed by warnings; detection software and punishment alone. Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism focuses on prevention rather than punishment and promotes a proactive, rather than reactive, approach to dealing with the issue. Topics covered in this book include: The causes of plagiarism How universities currently deal with plagiarism How teachers can support students in effective source use The role of technology Issues for second language writers and international students Drawing on her teaching experience as well as her academic research, Diane Pecorari offers a unique insight into this pervasive problem as well as practical advice on how to promote good source use to students and help them to avoid plagiarism. With a series of activities to help readers solidify their grasp of the approaches advised in the book, Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism is an essential guide for anyone in a student-facing role who wants to handle plagiarism more effectively. "Diane Pecorari''s book provides practical examples and activities on handling plagiarism blended with research-based findings. It is useful for teachers wanting to improve their understanding and practices in managing plagiarism, but also student advisors and academic support skills staff who deal with issues of academic integrity. This book makes a unique contribution to the field of plagiarism management as its structure affords direct professional development opportunities. Assessment tasks, broad questions and activities are provided at the end of each chapter, encouraging readers to understand both policy and practice in their own institution to better manage plagiarism and source attribution." Dr Wendy Sutherland-Smith, School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Australia "Teaching to Avoid Plagiarism successfully turns attention away from the detection and punishment of plagiarism and focuses instead on understanding and prevention through the promotion of good source use. Combining practical activities based on real-life examples with wide-ranging original research, this important book should be required reading, not only for staff development officers and lecturers, but more widely throughout the higher education community." Maggie Charles, Oxford University Language Centre "Diane Pecorari''s insightful research and scholarship on plagiarism is used to excellent effect in this book which advocates a proactive rather than reactive approach to the difficulties faced by students in learning how to integrate their source texts. Thoughtful activities and discussion questions aimed at staff development are teamed with advice on ways to build in support within disciplinary writing which will help students master the necessary academic skills to avoid plagiarism. The emphasis, quite rightly, is also on helping students understand how plagiarism disrupts the ethical values of the academy, and is not just another hurdle placed in their way by academic insiders." Dr Ann Hewings, Director, Centre for Language and Communication, The Open University "As stated by Diane Pecorari in the first sentence of this excellent volume, ''plagiarism is a problem in our universities''. The volume demonstrates clearly how teachers and students can deal with this ''problem'' by developing a better understanding of the phenomenon, on the one hand, and developing specific skills in dealing with it, on the other. Working from the principle that ''an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure'', Diane Pecorari argues for a proactive approach to handling issues of plagiarism, with an emphasis on the need to train students how to deal appropriately with sources. As well as a clear exposition of the theoretical issues at stake, the book contains a wealth of practical activities and discussion questions which will allow readers to develop the sort of competence in dealing with plagiarism that is the goal of the volume." Professor John Flowerdew, City University of Hong Kong
All Shaw University students have FREE ACCESS to Grammarly premium software - a tool to use for grammar, spelling, plagiarism, citation assistance, and copyright issues!
Their website also offers free access to many of their tools, providing access without an account.
Posting an item to Moodle does not exempt an instructor from copyright regulations. Therefore, instructors are encouraged to consult these guidelines to ensure they enforce proper copyright protocol:
Remember that repeated use over multiple semesters weighs against fair use. For repeated use, you will likely need to contact the publisher and request permissions.
| Item | Probably Allowed Use | Not Allowed Use |
|---|---|---|
| Website containing copyrighted material | Link to the Website using Moodle | Copying and pasting information into Blackboard |
| Copyrighted web image | Must be educational in nature; display in Moodle for one semester | Repeated use over multiple semesters |
| Article from a library database | Direct linking to the article | Copying and pasting the article into Moodle |
| Scanned copyrighted image | Must be educational in nature, display in Moodle for one semester | Repeated use over multiple semesters |
| Scanned chapter from a book | 5% of the total work (if in-print), 10% of the total work (if out-of-print), allowed for only one semester | More than the allotted percent, or repeated use over multiple semesters |
| Scanned article from a journal, trade publication, or magazine | A single article, for one semester | Multiple articles from the same publication, or repeated use over multiple semesters |
| Audio Files | No more than 30 seconds, without permission | Repeated use over multiple semesters, longer than the allotted time |
| Video Files | 10% of the total content, or 3 minutes (whichever is less) |
Repeated use over multiple semesters, longer than the allotted time |
(The courts are not bound by these amounts and the Copyright Act contains no such amounts. Therefore it is always advisable to err on the side of caution and complete your own fair use evaluation before scanning and posting to Moodle.)
Single copying for teachers:
A single copy generally may be made of any of the following for teaching purposes:
Multiple copies for classroom use:
Multiple print or digital copies of articles, book chapters, or other works may be made for classroom use or discussion provided that:
Other considerations:
You should not copy works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets, and answer sheets. Copying should not substitute for the purchase of books or periodicals.
Some examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use:
Online and distance education
The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act was passed in November 2002 as an amendment to the face-to-face performance and display exemption of copyright law (Sections 110(2) and 112). The requirements for compliance are somewhat complex, and the TEACH Act should be considered as one of several options available to instructors when using copyrighted works in their distance education courses.
The Copyright Act contains specific exceptions for the use of copyright-protected materials by academic institutions. These provisions include:
Here is a link to view the “Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws Contained in Title 17 of the United States Code”.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.