Mobile County Public School System Copyright Policy

Mobile County Public School System recognizes that federal law states that it is illegal to duplicate copyrighted materials without authorization of the holder of the

copyright, except for certain exempt purposes. Severe penalties may be imposed for

unauthorized copying of audiovisual or printed materials and computer software, unless the copying or using conforms to the “fair use”

doctrine.

Our System Policy

Copyright Procedures What is Copyright?

How Long Does Copyright Last?

What Can Be Copyrighted?

What is in the Public Domain?

What is Fair Use?

What is Copyright?

Allows authors, musicians, artists, etc. to profit from their labor.

Prevents others from taking their work for free.

Prevents others from altering the work without permission.

What Can Be Protected?• Literary Works• Musical Works• Dramatic Works• Choreographic Work• Pictorial, Graphic, and Sculptural Works• Motion Pictures and AV• Sound Recordings• Architectural Works

What Rights Do Copyright Holders Have?

To distribute copies for sale. To perform AV works publicly. To display musical and artistic

works publicly. To reproduce the work. To prepare derivative works.

How Long Does Copyright Last?

Life plus 70 years for individuals for anything on or after 1978.

Ninety five (95) years for corporate authors after publication for anything on or after 1978.

Ninety five (95) years protection for works published before 1978 and after 1923.

Copyright is Automatic

o There is no need to include a copyright notice. (©, 2003). However, it is a good idea to do so due to ignorance.

o The copyright is in force when the work is “fixed” which includes saving to disk or writing it on paper.

Copyright Vocabulary

Public Domain Fair Use Brevity Spontaneity Cumulative effect

Public Domain

Anything in the public domain is useable by anyone in any way that they want. No one owns it.

Everything published before 1923 is in the public domain.

US federal works are in the public domain. Authors can choose to put work in the

public domain by including a notice that the item is in the public domain.

What is Fair Use?

There are several tests for “Fair Use” that should be applied when asking if one is staying within copyright guidelines and law. These tests are for Brevity, Spontaneity, and Cumulative Effect.

Tests for Fair Use

Brevity Spontaneity Cumulative Effect

Brevity

The test for brevity has to do with the amount of material you copy from a work. As a general rule, it should not exceed 10% of the whole work.

Spontaneity

The test for spontaneity has to do with time:

seizing the moment.

Cumulative EffectThis test has to do with the amount of work that is

copied over time:

The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made;

Not more than three authors from the same collective work may be copied during the same term;

Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from the same author during the same term;

There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

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