Copyright and Plagiarism
Information for Learners
Information for Faculty
Additional Resources
The Copyright Act of 1976 states that under U.S. Code Title 17, works of an informative or creative nature are protected against duplication and distribution, and that the rights of ownership, reproduction, display, or performance are that of the authors or the owner of the copyrights for that work. The author or copyright owner can sell or grant rights to use the work to publishers, individuals, or groups.
Any work created after 1978 is protected by the current copyright law until 70 years after the death of the author. Any work created before 1964, for which the author or copyright owner has failed to renew the copyright, is free from copyright protection and therefore may be copied and used without permission
Information for Learners
Public Domain
A work is deemed public work when the copyright has expired, the author has failed to obtain proper copyright protection, the author grants the work to the public domain, or the work is authored or owned by the U.S. Government. See When U.S. Works Pass into the Public Domain for specific terms and dates.
Fair Use
Section 107 of U.S. Code Title 17 allows exceptions for educational use of copyrighted material. These exceptions are based on the nature of the material, the intent of the use for nonprofit or educational purposes, the amount of the work which is reproduced, the effect that the use will have on the value of the work in the current market.
Photocopies and electronic duplications of copyrighted material may be used for educational purposes if the following factors are considered: brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect. In addition, the American Library Association recommends that all material used or distributed for educational purposes include the following statement:
NOTICE: THIS MATERIAL MAY BE PROTECTED
BY COPYRIGHT LAW (Title 17 U.S. Code)
Copyright and Technology
The National Commission on New Technological Uses of Copyrighted Works (CONTU) was established by Congress, and, between 1975 and 1978, was responsible for determining how the Copyright Act of 1976 would be effected by emerging technology. View the Final Report for more information.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 provided stricter legislation in favor of copyright holders and updated copyright law to incorporate changes in technology. Provided regulations about prohibiting circumvention of technological protections (such as encryption) to ensure that copyrighted material could be effectively protected in digital format. Title 6 specifically addresses new technologies in relation to distance education and the usage of digitizated or electronic material in academic institutions.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is a serious problem throughout the academic community, not just an issue for college students. Plagiarism is theft of another's intellectual property, for which you can be legally charged.
Check out some plagiarism resources below.
Information for Faculty
Photocopying and Distribution for Educational Purposes
The following guidelines and definitions are reproduced directly from the 1998 U.S. Copyright Office Circular 21 booklet entitled Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians.
TEACH Act and Distance Education
In 2002, the "Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act" (TEACH Act) redefined the way in which accredited, non-profit educational intuitions could use copyrighted material in reference to distance education and addressed the increased utilization of resource sharing technology, e.g. course management software, websites, blogs, and email. Section 110(1) of the Copyright Act of 1976 allowed educators permission to "perform" or "display" copyrighted works in a classroom with few restrictions. The TEACH Act redefines and clarifies the nature of the classroom setting as relevant to non-traditional educational environments. Limitations on classroom use, type of material and institutional recordkeeping which had formerly been in place have been expanded to allow for a more flexible application of copyright law.
However, benefits of the TEACH Act only apply if the institution adheres to the following:
- maintenance of institutional accreditation
- creation of an institutional copyright policy
- dissemination of informational and instructional resources for faculty and students
In addition, material referred to by the TEACH Act is only considered copyright compliant for the duration of ONE course period and cannot be retained for future use without renewal of permission. Students must also be notified that material distributed or posted that course period may be subject to copyright protection.
Academic Databases and Electronic Bibliographies
When faculty create their syllabi/required reading lists, we encourage them to look for electronic material (e.g. journal articles, e-books) that is available via Gary Library academic databases. Faculty can then link directly to this electronic material in their syllabi without worrying about copyright issues.
Librarians can work with faculty to create these interactive, electronic bibliographies of copyrighted material in the academic databases to facilitate access to these resources for learners. Bibliographies containing direct links to the full text of journal articles and e-books can then be posted in eCollege learning space, on faculty websites, or distributed via email. Contact the reference librarian at Gary Library for more information about electronic bibliographies or go to making links to online library resources.
XanEdu CoursePacks
If faculty members wish to provide multiple learners with reading material that is not available in the Gary Library academic databases, they can create a CoursePack using XanEdu. XanEdu will obtain the necessary copyright permissions for the reading material and create digital or print CoursePacks which may then be purchased directly by the learner. For information on how to create a CoursePack with XanEdu, please contact your program administrator. If you need to provide a single hard copy of material to XanEdu, you may request that copy from the library via interlibrary loan, document delivery, or physical reproduction by the Gary Library. Further reproduction beyond that single copy must comply with the terms of the Fair Use doctrine and the TEACH Act
Gary Library Copyright Compliance Policy
Union Institute & University’s Gary Memorial Library complies with current copyright compliance when distributing print and electronic reproductions of material. All photocopies and electronic files from interlibrary loan transactions and document delivery are protected under the copyright regulations in the Fair Use doctrine in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976. As described in section 108, academic libraries may reproduce no more than one copy of protected material to for individual use. Copyright law forbids additional duplication or distribution of this material if it is violation of copyright regulations. Members of the UI&U community who willfully disregard adherence to copyright law do so at their own risk and assume all liability.
Additional Resources
Other UI&U Resources
Additional Copyright Resources
Plagiarism Resources
Plagiarism Detection Software for Faculty
