Pam Work

SLM 521

Copyright

The first of two scenarios that I have chosen to discuss is this:

Mr. Hamer is tutoring for the functional writing test out of a copyrighted series of workbooks from Houghtin Mifflin. He has 27 students but only 20 books were purchased for his class. The same material is available at the HM web page. He prints enough pages for his kids each morning for the day's class.

There are guidelines for making copies for students in class. The fair use statement was developed to allow teachers use of copyrighted materials in classroom instruction. This cannot be interpreted as giving educators the freedom to use any copyrighted materials just because they are choosing to use this particular material in instruction. There are limitations to fair use in the classroom. When reproducing a piece of instructional material results in diverting income from the manufacture of that material, this becomes a problem within the limitations. Four considerations need to be looked at when determining fair use of work:

1. Purpose

2. How much has been copied

3. What kind of material was copied

4. What is the potential financial loss to the person creating this work?

Whenever a teacher uses a piece of copyrighted work for educational purposes and this reproduction is not the largest portion of work being used, and the work is a published piece of work, fair use is favorable. Guidelines also state that making multiple copies of works to be used as a substitute for purchasing the material, this restricts the educator from being protected by fair use guidelines.

Mr. Hamer should not be allowed to make copies of the Houghtin Mifflin workbook. The operative word here is workbook. "Fair use" does not work in this scenario because Mr. Hamer is working with copyrighted workbooks. The guidelines (not law) that are stated from "A Visit to Copyright Bay" say that no consumable, such as a workbook, may be copied. In an article by Linda Starr, she states that making multiple copies of works instead of purchasing the book or periodical is not allowed by the users of such works. ( Starr, L. Education World) Copyright does not protect blank forms that you would have in a workbook handout. A point of argument is Copyright doesn’t protect forms that require you to add information, only forms that include information. Because "Fair use" guidelines suggest that consumables not be copied but Copyright only protects forms containing information. In my opinion, Mr. Hamer is in a situation where he must seek permission. If he has access to the Houghtin Mifflin web page he should research for information pertaining to copyright guidelines. When in doubt, always get permission first.

Scenario 2:

You find an outstanding World Wide Web site on the Internet and want your web page to contain some of the glittering wonderfulness of this site. You download and use part of the web page.

Ten Common Copyright Permission Myths by Attorney Lloyd J. Jassin, CopyLaw.com

The notion of being able to use material simply because it is part of a public domain is not giving the user direct permission to acquire this material. Copyright laws don’t have to be evident. Other legalities may exist and put into motion if a piece of public works is seen out of context. The author gives the example of artwork that may not include copyright but is protected under trademark laws. Trade secret of contract laws may also provide the creator from outside misuse of his/her work. In searching for information on this topic, a hit took me to Experts Exchange.com. It was explained that copying takes place every time someone opens his or her browser to another page. This in itself is not wrong. What is wrong is when the person misuses that copy. “When you put something on the web you are granting an implicit license for that person to download and store a copy on their browser computer for the purpose of displaying your page. The theft occurs when they use that copy for other purposes (e.g., using it on one of their own pages).”

It would not be ethical to use any part of a pre-existing web page designed by someone else for your benefit.