Copyright of Electronic Materials
Overview
While the Internet and electronic resources are easily accessible and shareable, that does not mean these types of items come without copyright restrictions. Each type of electronic resource comes with its own restrictions which are basically outlined below. The best rule of thumb to avoid copyright infringement is “If in doubt, ask permission”. Here is a sample permission letter.
E-mail is one type of electronic resource that is not often thought of as being copyright liable, but it is. A substantial e-mail is the intellectual property of the author, or in the case of university email, the property of the university. E-mail is usually expected to be kept private. If you wish to use it in a teaching capacity, ask for permission from the author.
Forwarding Emails
While some emails are expected to be forwarded, others are meant for a specific audience. For example, an email may be sent to a specific committee. It would be permissible to forward it to someone else in the committee, but it may be copyright infringement to forward it outside the committee without permission.
Attachments
Attachments are considered a separate work, and would depend on the content of the attachment.
Newsgroup and Discussion List
Discussion lists are a special kind of email. People involved in the list understand that they are sending an email to multiple people and in essence are releasing this information to the public. This is referred to as ‘implied license.’ They also understand that people will respond and comment including a portion of the original email as this is the ‘custom’ of the list. This type of response is not traditionally seen as a copyright infringement. However, it is not permissible to copy an email from one discussion list to another, use in teaching, online, or any other context without the express permission of the author.
Web Page Information
Web page usage is similar to print usage in many ways, and the best way to determine whether to use it is by the four tests of fair use that are normally applied to materials.
There are some specific issues with web pages that are different:
- Linking—It is permissible to link a webpage, as this is like the webpage “address” and not a copyrighted work. Linking to a webpage would probably be a better choice than copying from the webpage, as copying or saving a webpage could have copyright implications.
- Copying to share with colleagues—While copying materials for students can be construed as “nonprofit educational” use, this does not carry over to colleagues. Linking the website to colleagues would be a safer choice.
Chat Transcripts
This is a very contested area of communication. While chat can be considered a conversation, the fact that it can be captured and saved makes it a possible copyright problem. If you wish to use a chat for a class, it would probably a wise idea to ask for permission from the other chat participant(s).
Internet Code
It is legal to download HTML code to use in another work or page. The creative elements of the page, however, are copyrighted. It would be advisable to ask permission for using elements of a page, and also good manners to do so.
Video and Music in PowerPoint Presentations
Carol Simpson has an excellent paper here, which outlines the usage amounts for music, video, and copyrighted works in relation to the “Fair Use” guidelines. Reviewing this paperwill help ensure that you are following copyright regulations. Her paper states that 10% or 30 seconds of a musical work is acceptable, along with 3 minutes or 10% of a video are allowable. Other materials are also reviewed.
Distance Education
The TEACH Act was created to allow for more liberal uses of selections and sections of copyrighted work for the purposes of distance education. This act provides for the display of any work "in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session." While this act provides for a significant amount of use there are some explicitly impermissible items; works that were "primarily for performance or display as part of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks"; and also prohibiting the use of illegally or “unauthorized” copies of works. You can learn more about the TEACH Act on our Distance Education page and the American Library Association website.
Additional Resources
Copyright Law in the Electronic Environment