Copyright Matters! Important Info for Schools

BE SURE TO SHARE THIS LINK WITH STAFF AND ADMINISTRATORS AT YOUR SCHOOL.

Newly issued Copyright Matters! 

Available for downloading and compulsory reading for teacher-librarians.  

Share key points with staff, such as new meaning in education of what is "fair dealing," changed terms for viewing copyrighted materials,

and students' rights to copyright.

Q:  Is it okay to show films and charge admission as a fundraising activity.  The answer is the same as it was before the Copyright Modernization Act: No.  That is not considered "fair dealing." 

 Q:  Are you required to check to see if a film is covered by a district license?  No longer.  Nor does the district need to be the provider of the film you are showing.  Nor does anyone need to record what has been viewed in schools.  "Fair dealing" extends now to showing films for classroom or educational purposes. No district or site license or on-going record required.

Q:  What implications does this new Act have for using tools like mechanical plagiarism detectors, teachers and students using Web 2.0 tools, and blogs or wikis that highlight student work?

Any original work created by a student — be it in the form of an essay, a video or DVD, a sound recording, Web site, or art work — is protected. The student — or if the student is a minor [13 and under], the student’s parent or legal guardian — must authorize the further use of [his/her] work, such as its use in a school publication, a teaching workshop, a student exemplar, or in a Web posting.

Unless educators have signed permission from the student or, in the case of the younger ones, signed permission from parents, you would be violating students' intellectual property rights and the conditions of the Copyright Act in "publishing" or otherwise sharing their work.

Q:  Can you use internet materials in class? Is it okay to use youtube clips?  Yes.

Routine classroom uses may be made of publicly available Internet materials, such as incorporating on-line text or images into homework assignments, performing music or plays on-line for peers, exchanging materials with teachers or peers, or reposting a work on a restricted-access course Web-site.

To encourage copyright awareness and respect in all circumstances, students and educators are required to cite the source of the Internet materials they use.

There's more ... put aside time to read this important document.