Copyright at OCOM: Classroom Materials

The Classroom Use Exception (17 U.S.C. §110(1)) allows instructors to use copyrighted materials in the classroom without seeking permission. This exception is explicitly for in-person classroom instruction at a non-profit institution, and does not cover online teaching (there are different rules for that).

If you would like to show a video, listen to a podcast, or otherwise display any copyrighted material during a live, in-person classroom presentation, you are free to do so! Just make sure you are not posting online or otherwise making the resource available outside of that class lecture.

Teaching class content online uses a different exception: the TEACH Act (17 U.S.C. §110(2) and §112(f)).

To qualify for this exception, the work you are using fulfill the following criteria:

• Lawfully made and acquired.
• Only use a limited amount of the material.
• Limit the material used to current students enrolled in the course.
• Prevent further sharing of the material outside of the online classroom setting.

You can still conduct a Fair Use analysis on your teaching materials used in online instruction. If a copyrighted work is being fairly, you don't have to worry about the above criteria because you are already covered.

When making print or digital copies for classroom use, a copyright notice should be stamped on the first page of the material being copied (17 U.S.C. §401) and instructors must meet the tests of Brevity, Spontaneity and Cumulative Effect:

Brevity

• 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.
• 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.)
• Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue.
• “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 comprising 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

•  The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher; and
•  The inspiration and decision to use the work and 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

•  The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
•  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.
•  There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one 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.)

If the instructor will be using the material for more than one academic term, the instructor should fill out a Course Reserves Request Form to secure the required course materials to be placed on reserve in the library. If the instructor is using six or more articles, books chapters, or other items that require securing copyright permissions, the instructor will need to work with Clean Copy to create a course packet. See the Course Packets section for more details.

Instructors may place legally obtained copies of copyrighted materials on Populi for one academic term; linking to open access or resources that the library subscribes to is preferred. Uploading copyrighted material to other online venues (such as a personal website or file sharing site) is expressly prohibited.

BOOK CHAPTERS:
Instructors may post up to two scanned book chapters in Populi for use in their course without having to secure copyright permission, provided that the scanned material is equal to less than 10% of the entire book. Please remember to include the full citation and copyright information along with the scanned chapter(s). If you are using more than two chapter, more than 10% of the work, or if the book chapter is used repeatedly (i.e., the scanned chapter(s) were used in the course last year, and you want to use them again this year), copyright permission needs to be secured. Fill out the Course Reserves Request Form if the book chapter(s) you would like to use meet any of these criteria.

IF THE ARTICLE / BOOK CHAPTER IS AVAILABLE FROM OCOM'S COLLECTIONS:
You are welcome to use journal articles and eBooks from the Library's online collection without seeking permission. Our contracts allow for use in course reserves, so feel free to use anything from our collection! Just make sure you use the full proxied link (which begins with https://ezproxy.ocom.edu:2443/login?url=); more information about proxied links can be found below.  

IF THE ARTICLE / BOOK CHAPTER IS NOT AVAILABLE FROM OCOM'S COLLECTIONS:
You can use the article or scanned book chapter for one academic term without seeking permission; use in subsequent terms will require us to secure copyright permission. If you used an article or scanned book chapter previously and would like to use it again for your class, please fill out a Course Reserves Request Form so we can make sure to secure copyright permissions.

If you do not already have a legally obtained copy of the article or book chapter, please submit an Interlibrary Loan Request Form to get a copy.

Videotapes of a recorded television program may be put on reserve for one academic term only; any additional use requires the purchase of a legally produced copy from the copyright owner or authorized dealer.

When adding video in Populi, if at all possible, link out to the material online! For example, if you find a YouTube video that you would like students to watch, do not download the video and upload it into Populi; rather, you can just embed the video into the lesson, or create a link to the video on YouTube.

If you find an article in one of the library online resources that you would like your students to have access to, copy and pasting the URL from the top of your browser screen will often end in errors and headaches. If you would like to link your students or colleagues to an article from within a library database or online journal subscription, you will need to create a proxied URL. A proxy is a way of letting the website know that the person trying to access the article belongs to OCOM; it will redirect them to the login page so they can successfully view the full-text. This is OCOM's proxy:

https://ezproxy.ocom.edu:2443/login?url=

If you had to log in to view the article, your students will need to do the same! Any URL you post will have two parts: the proxy and the permalink. EXAMPLE:

For articles found directly from journal publisher websites, the permalink is just the regular URL from the web browser. So just copy the URL in your search bar, and add the proxy to the beginning of it.

Articles found in databases (such as EBSCO host and Gale) often have a built-in option to create a proxied URL. Look for the permalink button, and make sure the proxy is at the beginning of the URL:

If you would like to post copyrighted information into Populi, here are some guidelines:

• Do not upload material that you do not own unless you have already received permission from the copyright owner to do so. If at all possible, link out to the material online. For example, if you find a YouTube video that you would like students to watch, do not download the video and upload it into Populi; rather, you can just embed the video into the lesson, or create a link to the video on YouTube.
• Feel free to link to websites and open access journal articles found freely available on the web.
• If you would like to post an article that is not freely available online or via the OCOM Library, you conduct a Fair Use Analysis. If you deem your use falls under Fair Use, then feel free to use the material. If you have concerns about its use, fill out a Course Reserve Request Form. A library staff member will legally obtain the article for you and send you a PDF or a link that you can then post into Populi.

Faculty members may request materials to be placed on reserve. Course reserves can be in electronic format (such as a PDF of a journal article that is posted in Populi), or the physical item may be placed on reserve in the library for 1 week checkout (for example, an entire book or a chart).

If you have already added the book to your list of required texts in Populi, there is no need to fill out this form – we will automatically place these items on reserve!

Please allow adequate time for reserve requests – we may need to request copyright permissions, which could take as long as a week to secure. To place a request, fill out this form.

If you will be using six or more articles, books chapters, or other items that require securing copyright permissions, you will need to work with the OCOM Bookstore to create a course packet. The library may carry course textbooks and required materials on reserve, but will not provide access to course packets – it is the responsibility of the instructor to work with the Bookstore in creating this and instructing students on how to purchase packets.