Copyright Infringement
The Copyright Act of 1976 grants the copyright holder exclusive rights under Section 106 to:
- reproduce the work,
- adapt or prepare derivative works based upon the work (how the material will be used),
- distribute the work,
- perform the copyrighted work publicly (creator and copyright holder hold performance rights),
- display the copyrighted work publicly, and
- perform copyrighted sound recordings publicly by means of a digital audio transmission (11-95).
Under Section 107 the Fair Use Exemptions for Education
allow the educator to use copyrighted materials of others in support of
education of students in nonprofit educational institutions. There are
four factors to determine if the fair use exemption applies. Each of
these factors must be met for the use of the work to be considered fair
use. They are as follows:
- The purpose and character of use - more likely if the work is for a noncommercial educational purpose
- The nature of the copyrighted work - factual or creative material? - more likely if the material is factual
- Amount and substantiality of portion used in relation to
copyrighted work as a whole - in general, up to 10% in total from a
single work can be used without permission for educational purposes
- Effect of use upon the potential market or on value of copyrighted work
Under
the "Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act" the copyright term for
all protected works is now life of the author plus 70 years, or for a
corporate author the shorter of 95 years from publication or 120 years
from creation. This applies to works created on or after January 1,
1978. Works published in 1922 and earlier are in the public domain. For
dates between 1922 and 1978 see When U.S. Works Pass Into Public Domain.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 was
signed into law by President Clinton on October 28, 1998 to amend the
Copyright Act of 1976. A summary by the U.S. Copyright Office is
available online.
View the summary of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 or the amendments to the U.S. Copyright Law, Title 17 since 1976.
The new law includes provisions to provide limitations for Online Service Provider liability.
Libaries and educational institutions that provide online services or
network access or operate such facilities must comply with specified
requirements to qualify.
Web Sites on Copyright
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