WSCC Computer Policy and Security Information

Copyright Laws and Fair Use Copyright laws apply to electronic publishing as well as to print publishing. Publishers must have permission to publish any copyrighted information. Copyright information includes not only text based information but also graphics, sound clips, animations, and photographs. Electronic publications are subject to the same college policies and standards as print publications.

Use of copied information in an educational institutional setting is based on the Fair Use clause in Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. This clause allows allows for multiple copies for classroom use provided that this copying meets its criteria for brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect. These criteria are defined as follows:

Brevity: a complete poem if less than 250 words or an excerpt of not more than 250 words; a complete prose work of less than 2500 words or an excerpt of not more than 1000 words, or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but a minimum of 500 words;

Spontaneity: the copying is at the inspiration of the individual teacher and the decision to use the work is such that it is unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission;

Cumulative Effect: the copying is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made; not more than one short poem or prose work or more than two excerpts may be copied from the same author nor more than three copies from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term; and there should be no more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

More information on US copyright laws can be obtained from the following Library of Congress and the Cornell Law Library on the Internet:

* http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright
* http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/

Information on copyright and multimedia can be found at:

* Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia and Related Documents and Links