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Hamilton College Copyright Policy (2008)

 
 
 

TABLE OF CONTENTS  

 

4.      Displaying media on campus                                            
 


PART 1:  INTRODUCTION TO COPYRIGHT

 

Why Care About Copyright?

 
This is the Hamilton College interpretation of the Copyright Law, Title 17, United States Code, 1976. The copyright law of the United States governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Our policies are based on careful review of the law itself, the Fair Use guidelines of 1997, the TEACH Act of 2002, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, and the DMCA exemptions of 2006.
 
This is by no means the only interpretation. It is, however, what we believe is most ethical and appropriate for this campus. It is our hope that this will help you understand and adhere to the provisions of federal copyright law.
 
Compliance with the federal copyright law and with this policy is the responsibility of every member of the Hamilton College community. Each of us should take a personal interest in becoming informed about how copyright law affects our work at Hamilton College.
 
Copyright law is complicated and its interpretation is sometimes controversial. This guide has been prepared in an effort to help us all better understand what is allowable by law, and why some services that are technically possible may nevertheless be restricted. We will always remain open to receiving any new information on or interpretation of copyright law.
 
Your support and cooperation is greatly appreciated. If you have questions or concerns about this policy, please contact the Reference Department, Burke Library, Hamilton College, 315-859-4735.
 

General Information About Copyright

 
Copyright grants to the author or originator the sole and exclusive privilege of multiplying copies of literary or artistic productions and publishing and selling them. Copyright protection exists for original works fixed in any tangible medium of expression, including:
 
  • literary works;
  • musical works, including any accompanying words;
  • dramatic works, including any accompanying music;
  • pantomimes and choreographic work;
  • pictorial, graphic, and sculpture work;
  • motion pictures and other audiovisual works;
  • sound recordings.

Penalties for Infringement

 
Substantial penalties can be imposed for infringement of a copyright. An injunction to stop the infringement is most likely to be the first action. Payment of actual damages for financial loss suffered by the copyright owner may be required. Statutory damages, for which no actual damages need be proved, may be assessed. If the court determines there is an infringement, it may award between $750 and $30,000. If the court determines that the infringement was willful, the penalty may be as high as $150,000 per item. 

An exception to the statutory damages is made in the case of teachers, provided the teacher believed and had reasonable grounds to believe that it was fair use. In this case the teacher may be found guilty but the damages do not have to be paid. This gives the teachers some special consideration under the law, but it also requires that they be thoroughly familiar with what might be considered reasonable fair use practices.
 
 

PART 2:  FAIR USE GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATORS

 
Many provisions of the 1976 copyright law affect educational uses of copyrighted materials but the most generally applicable is Section 107 - Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Fair Use. Under the law, it is fair use to reproduce copyrighted materials for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Four criteria will be applied in judging whether or not there has been an infringement:
 
  • The purpose and character of the use.
  • The nature of the copyrighted work.
  • The amount and substantiality of the portion being used.
  • The effect on the potential market for or value of the work.
The four criteria for determining fair use listed above are very general. To aid in the interpretation of Fair Use criteria, interested groups of publishers and users have agreed on more specific guidelines, including:
 
  • Guidelines and fair use in photocopying of copyrighted print materials for educational purposes.
  • Guidelines and fair use of copyrighted musical works in education.
  • Guidelines for photocopying of interlibrary loans by libraries and libraries.
Representatives of copyright owners and educators, during the CONFU process in 1996-97, agreed that the general principles of fair use can also apply to multimedia items. The guidelines they developed are widely, but not universally, accepted and used in interpreting the provisions of copyright law. The guidelines are not written into the law, so fair use is still a shadowy territory and subject to varying interpretations.
 
It is important to keep in mind that, in general, fair use does not give permission for copying works in their entirety. Limited portions may be incorporated into a new production by a student for a class project or by an instructor for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. In order to copy an entire work, permission must be obtained from the copyright holder. See Part 8 of this document.
 
Digital media, including DVDs, are a special case, governed by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998, which introduced new restrictions on unauthorized copying. Since the 1998 Act, several exemptions to the DMCA restrictions have been approved. The exemptions of November 2006 include a provision similar to fair use, to allow film studies professors to circumvent the encryption of digital media in order to make compilations of portions of those works for educational use in the classroom.
 
 

PART 3:  PHOTOCOPYING FOR CLASSROOM USE AND LIBRARY RESERVES

 
Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or other reproduction is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of "fair use", that user may be liable for copyright infringement.
 

Copying for Classroom Uses

 
Primary and secondary school educators have, with publishers, developed guidelines which allow a teacher to distribute photocopied materials to students in a class, without the publisher's prior permission, upon compliance with these and other conditions:
 
  • The distribution of the same photocopied materials does not occur every semester.
  • Only one copy is distributed for each student, which must become the student's property.
  • The materials include a copyright notice on the first page of the portion of material photocopied.
  • The students are not assessed any fee beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.

Copying for Library Reserve Uses

 
At the request of a faculty member, a library may photocopy and place on reserve excerpts from copyrighted works in its collection in accordance with the guidelines above, similar to those governing formal classroom distribution for face-to-face teaching discussed above. Hamilton College believes that these guidelines apply to the library reserve shelf to the extent it functions as an extension of classroom readings or reflects an individual student's right to photocopy for his personal scholastic use under the doctrine of fair use.
 
If the request calls for only one copy to be placed on reserve, the library may photocopy an entire article, an entire chapter from a book, or an entire poem. Requests for multiple copies on reserve should meet the following guidelines:
 
  • The amount of material should be reasonable in relation to the total amount of material assigned for one term of a course, its subject matter and level.
  • The number of copies should be reasonable in light of the number of students enrolled, the difficulty and timing of assignments, and the number of other courses that may assign the same material.
  • The material should contain a notice of copyright.
  • The effect of photocopying the material should not be detrimental to the market for the work. In general, the library should own at least one copy of the work.

Electronic Reserves

 
These guidelines apply to Electronic Reserves as well as paper copies. Copyright notices are applied to the documents before they are scanned for use on the Web. Electronic Reserves are available for use off campus by members of the Hamilton College Community only, and their use is protected by copyright.
 
 

PART 4:  DISPLAYING MEDIA ON CAMPUS

 

Public Performance vs. Classroom Showing

 
If you wish to schedule a film showing on campus, please be aware of this information about public performance licensing.
 
  • Before you do any advertising of your film (e-mail, posters, flyers, etc.), you need to make sure you are not about to violate any copyright restrictions.
  • Classroom showings - Most of the movies in our library, most of the movies in your personal collection, and most of the movies at rental stores are designated as home-use recordings. There is an educational exemption that allows you to show these movies to your class. However, this means only your class may attend (that is, the students who are registered to take the course for credit).
  • Public showings- If the movie is being shown for entertainment purposes, or if you invite non-class members, or if you advertise the movie, it is a public (open) showing. You are not excused from the "public" designation just because it is an "educational" film, or you are advertising only on campus, or you are not charging for admission. To be safe, you should first determine the licensing status of your movie. Contact the AVS Film Specialist for assistance. If we find that a public performance license is required, she will place the order for you, but your department will need to provide funding for the license. The arrangements for licensing should be made before you issue any invitations or advertisements.

Rented Films and Videos

      
Upon request, media materials for a specific occasion will be rented for you by the AVS Film Specialist. If public performance licensing is required, the rental contract will include it.
 
If a student will not be able to attend the scheduled showing, and you want to schedule a second showing, it must be arranged before the rental is ordered and made a part of the rental contract. Many companies charge an extra fee to show a movie a second time, even if it's for a single student from the original class.
 
Rented materials cannot be placed on reserve, nor can they be shown in the Media Library for a student who may miss the original showing. The additional showing in a classroom must be scheduled through the AV office and added to the rental contract.
 
College facilities, equipment, and AV Services projectionists cannot be used to show media materials that have not been legally obtained for classroom or public showings. Videos that you have rented from a local video store such as Blockbuster may be used for classroom showings, but they do not constitute legally obtained copies for open (public) showings.
 

Showing Media Library Materials

 
  • Films, videos and DVDs owned by the Media Library (and a small collection of music titles in the Music Library) are generally purchased for classroom use only.
  • These media cannot be used for a public showing and therefore cannot be advertised, even to the campus community.
  • Showings of these media cannot be opened to students outside your class.
  • In some cases, public performance rights have been purchased at the time the film was purchased, depending on the vendor. Please ask Marilyn Huntley or Linda Brennan to check the licensing status of any library item.
  • If rights were not purchased with the film, written permission for a public showing may sometimes be obtained. Contact Linda Brennan (859-4923), the Media Library Assistant, for information.
  • In other cases, you can purchase a public performance license that will allow you to advertise a showing of a library item. Contact Marilyn Huntley (859-4120) for assistance in ordering a license. All or a portion of the cost must be paid by the requesting department.
  • If performance rights are not available, or may not be obtained in any way, then these media cannot be offered for a public showing and therefore cannot be advertised – not even to the college community. Showings of these media cannot be opened to anyone except the students in your class.

Programs Recorded Off-Air

 
This policy is based on the Kastenmeier Guidelines, as published by the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984.
 
  • Broadcast programs (that is, programming that is transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge, including simultaneous cable retransmission of such stations' programming) may be taped off-air by nonprofit educational institutions, for use in instruction and not for entertainment. Premium pay services such as HBO, Cinemax and Disney, and cable-only services such as Lifetime, USA and MTV do not fall in the open broadcast category and cannot be taped.
  • A broadcast may be recorded and retained by the educational institution for a period of 45 calendar days after the date of the recording. At the end of that period, the recording must be erased. Off-air recordings may be used once in class by a teacher, and can be repeated once for instructional reinforcement.
  • The showing must be in a classroom, and must take place within the first 10 consecutive school days. "School days" are school session days – not counting weekends, holidays, vacations, examination days or other scheduled interruptions – within the 45 calendar day retention period. A teacher must request that a program be recorded. Programs cannot be recorded by AV Services in anticipation of a request.
  • After the first 10 consecutive school days a tape may be used by a teacher up to the end of the 45 calendar day retention period, only to review and determine whether or not to purchase the program.
  • All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notices displayed on the program.

Faculty Owned Media
 
  • Movies purchased by you or by your department may be used by you in your classroom, but cannot be used for an open showing to students outside your class and cannot be advertised on campus.
  • Videos you have taped off-air at your home will not be shown in the classroom by an AV Services projectionist. AV Services can make an off-air tape of the broadcast at your request, or it may be possible to rent or purchase a program through appropriate channels.

Use of Media by Lecturers
 
If a lecturer or performer brings multimedia materials (film, video, DVD, CD) for use in their program, it is expected that the individual is the copyright owner of the material or has obtained permission or licensing to display the items.
 
 

PART 5:  VIDEO RECORDING OF CAMPUS EVENTS

 
Department or student productions can be videotaped if the following criteria are met:  
  • If the presentation is an original work by a faculty member or student, and they sign a video recording permission form provided by AV Services. The form is available online at http://onthehill.hamilton.edu/college/its/itsst/forms/RecordingRelease.pdf.
  • If the presentation is a copyrighted script and written permission is obtained in advance from the publisher or owner of the copyright. Some works which one might believe to be in the public domain may still carry a copyright for translation, stage direction or other modifications, and written permission is still necessary.
  • If the presentation involves copyrighted music (such as a dance concert) and written permission is obtained from the music publisher or owner of the copyright.
For information on obtaining permission from a publisher or copyright owner in order to make a video recording of a performance of a copyrighted script or music, see Part 8 of this document, or a page on the University of Texas web site, at http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/permissn.htm.
 

Lectures and Performances


Lectures or performances presented by guests to the campus will be video recorded if the guest signs a permission form, provided by AV Services, prior to the lecture or performance taking place. Permission must also be obtained from members of the campus community (employees, students, alumni, trustees). A printable form is available at http://onthehill.hamilton.edu/college/its/itsst/forms/RecordingRelease.pdf. By signing this permission form, speakers and performers are also certifying that any audiovisual materials (movie, PowerPoint, web page) are their own work or that they have obtained proper copyright clearances for displaying them.
 

Sporting Events


According to the rules of NESCAC and other athletic leagues in which Hamilton teams compete, there are no restrictions placed on recording varsity sporting events. A request must come from a member of the coaching staff.
 
 

PART 6:  MULTIMEDIA (AV) PRODUCTION WORK

 

Existing Video Footage

 
The Fair Use exemption in the Copyright Law permits copying of portions of video materials by faculty and students for the purpose of incorporating the clips into a new production for educational use in the classroom, without obtaining permission from the copyright holder.
 
As a general guideline, the borrowed material may not constitute more than 10% of the original, or 3 minutes, whichever is less, nor may it comprise the majority of the finished product. The opening screen of the project and any accompanying print material must include a notice that certain materials have been used under the fair use exemption of the U.S. Copyright Law.
 
In 1998, the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 dealt specifically with digital media, including DVDs, and introduced new restrictions on copying. Section 1201 of the DMCA prohibits the circumvention of encryption on all digital media. It is a violation of the DMCA, for example, to make a digital copy of an encrypted DVD, because doing so would require breaking the copy protection. In November 2006, several exemptions to the DMCA restrictions were approved. One of the new exemptions is for multimedia works included in the educational library of a college or university's film or media studies department, when circumvention is accomplished for the purpose of making compilations of portions of those works for educational use in the classroom by media studies or film professors.
 

Existing Copyrighted Music

 
In accordance with the Fair Use Guidelines, existing music (recorded music, lyrics, or music videos) can be incorporated into a student or faculty multimedia project if the borrowed material does not constitute more than 10% of the original, or 30 seconds, whichever is less.
 
If the material you want is in compliance with the Fair Use limitations (less than 10%) and the Music Library staff member grants permission, an audiocassette or CD copy can be made for you by either the Music Library or Audiovisual Services.
 
The Multimedia Presentation Center/ Information Commons has a supply of licensed pre-recorded music that can be used in video production. Other music can be used only if a "video synchronization license" is bought from the music publisher or owner of the copyright.
 

Copying CDs, DVDs, Video and Audio Tapes

 
Hamilton College reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying request if in its judgment, fulfillment of this order would involve violation of the copyright law. No media carrying a copyright will be duplicated without written consent from the publisher or copyright owner.
 
The copyrights on media from other countries are valid in the U.S. and are honored by Hamilton College. We do not copy foreign media into the U.S. formats just for the convenience of the user. Several classrooms spaces on campus have equipment for showing foreign videotapes and DVDs. To find a suitable room, contact the Registrar's office at ext. 4638 or the AV Services office at ext. 4120 or 4231.
 
 

PART 7:  DIGITAL INFORMATION SYSTEMS

 

Copyright Infringement on Hamilton's Digital Information Systems

 
In compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act's safe harbor provisions relating to educational institutions, Hamilton encourages the users of its network to educate themselves on the principles of copyright and to respect the rights of copyright owned by others. To that end, you will find on the final page of this document a number of references that provide basic principles regarding copyright that relate to the College community.
 

Notification and Removal Procedures - Introduction

 
Individuals using computers and networks ("Digital Information Systems") at Hamilton College (the "College") are responsible for complying with copyright laws and the College's policies and procedures regarding use of the Digital Information Systems. The College reserves the rights to deny, limit, revoke or extend computing privileges and access to the Digital Information Systems in its discretion. In addition, alleged violations of this procedure, the College's policies regarding use of the Digital Information Systems, or other policies of the College in the course of using the Digital Information Systems may result in an immediate loss of computing privileges and may result in the referral of the matter to the College's judicial system or other appropriate authority.
 
The procedures outlined below will apply when the College receives notification of an alleged copyright infringement. For purposes of these procedures, an e-mail message shall be considered a written notice or request.
 

Notification of Infringement

 
Copyright holders who believe their copyrighted material has been infringed by an account holder must notify the College Library's Director of Library Information Systems, (the "Designated Agent") of the allegedly infringing action or material in writing. The notification must 1) identify the copyrighted material being infringed in sufficient detail to permit the College to locate the allegedly infringing material on the College's Digital Information Systems, 2) state the basis for the claim of possible infringement, and 3) state the basis for the copyright holder's copyright in the work (e.g., author, owner, assignee).
 
  1. The Designated Agent will notify the account holder who appears to have posted the allegedly infringing material, and will investigate the complaint promptly.
  2. If, after conducting an investigation, the Designated Agent determines that the allegedly infringing material appears to infringe the copyright of the copyright holder, the Designated Agent will follow the procedures for Removal of Infringing Material set forth below.

Removal of Infringing Material

 
  1. In the event that the allegedly infringing material is being used for an active class at the College, the Designated Agent will attempt to work out an arrangement with the copyright holder for use of the allegedly infringing material by the account holder until the end of the current semester. Failing a satisfactory arrangement, the Designated Agent will conduct an investigation of and take action as set forth below regarding any allegedly infringing material.
  2. If, after the Designated Agent's investigation, the Designated Agent determines that the allegedly infringing material appears not to infringe the copyright of the copyright holder, the Designated Agent will notify the copyright holder and the account holder of the determination. If the copyright holder disagrees with the determination of the Designated Agent, the copyright holder may request in writing that the College ask its attorneys to render an opinion as to whether the allegedly infringing material constitutes copyright infringement pursuant to paragraph 11 below.
  3. If, after the Designated Agent's investigation, the Designated Agent determines that the allegedly infringing material appears to infringe the copyright of the copyright holder, the Designated Agent will notify the Director, Network and Telecommunication Services (NTS), the copyright holder and the account holder whose account was used to post the allegedly infringing material.
  4. Upon receipt of such notification from the Designated Agent, the Director, Network and Telecommunications Services (NTS), will direct the appropriate ITS staff member to remove, or block access to the allegedly infringing material.
  5. Upon receipt of notification from the Designated Agent that the allegedly infringing material appears to infringe the copyright of the copyright holder and is being blocked or removed from Hamilton's Digital Information Systems, the account holder may request that the Designated Representative restore the removed or blocked material based on the account holder's belief that the allegedly infringing material is not infringing. Such request must be in writing and include a detailed statement of the basis for the account holder's belief that the allegedly infringing material is not infringing, as well as a request that the removed or blocked material be restored.
  6. If the Designated Agent receives such request from the account holder, the Designated Agent will provide a copy of the request to the copyright holder.
  7. If, within 10 days after a copy of the account holder's request is sent to the copyright holder by the Designated Agent, the Designated Agent has not received a written request from the copyright holder to continue the blocking or removal of the allegedly infringing material, the Designated Agent will notify the Director, Network and Telecommunications Services (NTS), to restore the material. The Director, Network and Telecommunications Services (NTS), will restore the allegedly infringing material within four days after receipt of such notification.
  8. If the Designated Agent receives within 10 days a written request from the copyright holder to continue the blocking or removal of the allegedly infringing material is received from the original sender, the Designated Agent will provide copies of all correspondence in the matter to the Vice President for Information Technology who will forward copies of such correspondence to the College's attorneys, who will be asked to render an opinion as to whether the allegedly infringing material constitutes copyright infringement. If the allegedly infringing material is determined not to constitute copyright infringement, the material will be restored by the Director, Network and Telecommunications Services (NTS), within four days of such determination.

Interim Designation of Agent to Receive Notification of Claimed Infringement
 
This is to notify copyright holders that Hamilton College's Designated Agent to receive notices and request concerning claimed infringement, pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is Ken Herold, Director of Library Information Systems, Burke Library. Any copyright holder wishing to send a notice to Hamilton College regarding possible copyright infringement should file that notice in writing with Ken Herold at the following address:
 
Daniel Burke Library
Hamilton College
198 College Hill Road
Clinton, New York 13323
Telephone: 315-859-4487
Fax: 315-859-4578
 
 

PART 8:  SEEKING PERMISSION TO USE COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS

 
Educators should be aware that it may be possible to make use of copyrighted materials beyond what is provided under fair use, if permission is granted first. There may or may not be a charge, and permission may be refused, but it never hurts to ask.
 
A Reference Librarian may be able to assist you in seeking permission, but if you want to do it yourself, here are the steps to follow.
 
First, determine ownership of the work. A Reference Librarian can help in determining whom to contact. The Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) may be able to provide permission for using print materials. Media Library films are not covered by the CCC, so you will need to locate addresses of individual publishers. Next send a detailed letter of request, including the following:
 
  • Title and author's/originator's name
  • Editor and edition (if a print material)
  • Exact material to be used, including amount, page numbers, chapters and if possible a photocopy of the material, or other appropriate quantitative description
  • Number of copies to be made
  • Purpose for the duplicated materials
  • Form or method of distribution
  • Whether or not the material is to be sold
  • Type of reproduction (photocopy, slide, videotape, etc.)
 
You might also do the following:
  • Leave blank spaces (possibly in the form of a checklist) at the end for the publisher to fill in whether or not permission is granted, conditions, authorized signature and date.
  • Make three copies - one for your files and two to send to the publisher.
  • One of these is to be returned to you with the publisher's decision indicated
  • Include a self-addressed, stamped return envelope.
  • Don't ask for a blanket permission - in most cases it cannot be granted.
  • Send by registered mail when response is crucial, such as for publications that will be sold or printed for distribution.
 
 

PART 9:  LAWS, GUIDELINES AND REFERENCES

 

Laws and Guidelines

 
Copyright Law of the United States of America and Related Laws, contained in Title 17 of the United States Code, 1976: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode17/usc_sup_01_17.html
 
Kastenmeier Guidelines for Off-Air Taping for Educational Purposes, U. S. House of Representatives, 1984: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/Kastenmeier.html
 
Educational Multimedia Fair Use Guidelines from the CONFU Conference of the CCUMC. 1997: http://www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/ccmcguid.htm
 
Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 1998: http://www.copyright.gov/legislation/dmca.pdf
 
Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH), 2002: http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/woissues/copyrightb/federallegislation/distanceed/teachsummary.pdf
 
DMCA exemptions, 2006: http://www.asc.upenn.edu/dmca/
  

References

 
This copyright policy was prepared with information gathered from the following sources:
 
The Copyright Directory: 1990-91. Friday Harbor, WA: Copyright Information Services, 1990.
 
Crews, Kenneth D. Copyright Essentials for Librarians and Educators. Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 2001.
 
Dukelow, Ruth H. The Library Copyright Guide, Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Copyright Information Services, Washington, DC, 1992.
 
Harry Fox Agency web site (http://www.harryfox.com/index.jsp) –
Information Circulars and Factsheets from the U.S. Copyright Office: http://www.copyright.gov/circs/#fl
 
Miller, Jerome K. and others. Video Copyright Permissions.  Friday Harbor, WA: Copyright Information Services, 1989.

Pennsylvania State University web site. Copyright & Other Legal Information: www.libraries.psu.edu/mtss/resources/copyright.html
 
The Official Fair-Use Guidelines. Fourth Edition. Eugene, Oregon: Copyright Information Services, 1985.
 
Sinofsky, Esther R. Off-Air Videotaping in Education. New York: R.R. Bowker Company, 1984.
 
University of Texas web site –
Vlcek, Dr. Charles. Copyright Policy Development. Second printing. Friday Harbor, WA: Copyright Information Services, 1988.