Excerpt from 2002 Faculty Handbook (Draft)

Faculty are responsible for knowing and observing the laws concerning copyrighted material. Title 17, U.S. Code, Section 107, of the Federal Copyright Law, Revision of 1978, provides that "fair use" of copyrighted work, including use by reproduction for purposes such as "teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright." The four statutory criteria used to determine whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use include:

A. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational uses. 

B. The nature of copyrighted work. 

C. The amount or substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. 

D. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted 
      work. 

Multiple copying for classroom use cannot exceed the number of pupils in a class; must meet strict tests of brevity, spontaneity, and non-cumulative effect; and must include a notice of copyright. "Brevity" is defined in strict and arbitrary volume terms, e.g., no more than 250 words from a poem, between 500 and 1000 words from works of prose but up to 2,500 words of a complete article. "Cumulative effect" limits copying by each instructor of a given item to only one course in the school, not more than nine instances of multiple copying for one course during one class term, and not more than one item from the same author nor three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term. Under the guidelines, copies may not 1) be used as a substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works; 2) be made of "consumables" such as workbooks; 3) be a substitute for purchases, be directed by higher authority, or be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term; 4) be the subject of a charge to the student beyond actual copying cost.

Videotaping of television programs for classroom use from commercial television programming should be tested by the above statutory criteria for fair use. Before videotaping television programs for classroom use from a public broadcasting agency, the faculty member should contact the local broadcasting station as to the list of programs schools may record off the air. Also, see Jacksonville State University Manual of Policies and Procedures.

Faculty members are responsible for obeying the laws concerning computer software use and for complying with the licensing agreements pertaining to each program or set of data. Applicable federal laws on use of computer software are available in the University Computer Center. Faculty members who have questions regarding the use of software should consult the Director of Computer Services.

University employees who wish to use copies of material created by others (printed material, videotape, computer software, or other materials related to electronic media) are responsible for determining its copyright status and should obtain written permission from the copyright owner before using the material except when the "fair use" criteria stated above are met.

Consistent with the University's objectives of supporting faculty research and maintaining a reputable academic standing, faculty members are encouraged to engage in scholarly activities that may result in the creation of patents and copyrights. Faculty members shall retain ownership of copyrights and patent rights from individual creative works if no substantial aid from the University or from an outside agency operating through official University channels is received.

Rights pertaining to materials that result from University-assisted efforts, externally sponsored efforts, and University-assigned efforts shall be determined in accordance with the terms of the Jacksonville State University Manual of Policies and Procedures.