Life @ Otis

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines

LIB copyright2

It is the intent of Otis College of Art & Design Library to adhere to the provision of the US Copyright Law (Title 17). The law is complicated, particularly as relates to educational and fair use. Below are useful sites which present various aspects and interpretations of compliance with the law to assist faculty, students, and the entire Otis Community who use copyrighted materials, text, and images for lectures, as well as for artmaking and on Otis' websites. Please educate yourself!

Copyright Policies: Everyone posting in O-Space is legally and ethically responsible for adhering to copyright laws. By uploading material to O-Space, you personally assume all legal responsibility for infringements. Course Readers should be used for all required readings. Articles should not routinely be scanned for O-Space. Fair Use Checklist (pdf)

Information on Fair Use and Film (PDF)
The Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Best Practices for Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video
From the American University Center for Social Media.

Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance (Copyright Clearance Center)

Digital Future Coalition Learning Center

A Map of Use Issues from University of Minnesota

US Copyright Office

Copyright Policy for Web-Based Instructional Materials at Otis

Most of what you find online is copyrighted material. This is true for all material on the Otis website and for all material that you access through the Otis Proxy Server. The Library contracts with several database publishers and vendors to provide these resources to Otis students and faculty for educational use only. They are made available to at no charge, but are subject to the conditions of the licensing contracts between Otis and the publishers.

Fair Use Checklist

Educational Use is defined as private study and research.

You May use unaltered text and images from most licensed or copyrighted library online resources for:

classroom activities and assignments

displays and performances within the college as long as they are free of charge

free presentations or performances at educational seminars, conferences, or workshops

student or faculty portfolios not intended for public display or for sale

But you must cite the materials. Consult the course style guides for rules governing quotations and citation format, etc.

You May Not not lift text or images from licensed or copyrighted library online resources for:

republishing in any format (including web sites)

redistribution beyond the college by any means

commercial or business-related purposes

fundraising, marketing, or public relations without the express permission of the copyright owner and/or licensing agency.

If you wish to include copyrighted materials for the above uses, you are responsible for securing permissions in advance.

Adaptations of Images...
If you use images from library online resources and then alter or modify them, or incorporate them into another work -- the adaptations are still subject to these guidelines.

Downloading...
You may not retain text or images downloaded from library online resources beyond the life of our contract with the provider, or beyond your affiliation with the school.

Otis Library Must...
To fulfill our contracts with resource providers, we will report willing and knowing violations of these guidelines to the publisher or copyright owner. We reserve the right to deny access to online resources and to revoke the library privileges of any user who intentionally violates our licensing agreements or U.S. copyright law.

What About "Free" Stuff Downloaded from Web?
It is a good idea to follow the same guidelines. Assume that what you find on the web is copyrighted unless otherwise stated.

Summary of Copyright Notice Required by HOEA

Image above used by permission: http://www.flickr.com/photos/teachingsagittarian/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0