Transcript Slide 1
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT
COPYRIGHTS, INFRINGEMENT, FAIR USE, AND PLAGIARISM
IN A UNIVERSITY SETTING
Stephen E. Gillen
Wood Herron & Evans LLP
2700 Carew Tower
441 Vine Street
Cincinnati, OH 45202
513.241.2324 ext 470
Copyright © 2011 by Stephen E. Gillen
Copyright is a bundle of rights
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Reproduction
Distribution
Adaptation
Public performance
Public display
Digital transmission (for sound recordings)
Who owns it
• Human author
• Work for hire
– By employment
– By contract
– University exceptions
• Joint authorship
• Collective works (journals)
What is protected by copyright
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Literary works
Musical works
Dramatic works
Pantomimes and choreographic works
Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
Motion pictures
Sound recordings
Architectural works
Collective works and compilations
What isn’t protected
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Works not fixed
Titles, names, and short phrases
Facts and ideas
Blank forms and common tables
How do you get a copyright
• It’s automatic
• No formality is required
• Registration is available and
recommended
• Notice does not require registration
How long does a copyright last
• Life plus 70 years
• 95-120 years in the case of WFH
• Other rules for older works
Transfer of Copyright
• Requires a writing
• Except for non-exclusive license
• Can be terminated after 35 years
Copyright ≠ Plagiarism
• Plagiarism is passing the product of someone
else’s intellectual labor off as your own (from
the Latin plagiare – to kidnap)
– Whether it is still under copyright
– Whether it was ever under copyright
• Using copyrighted 3rd party works may be
infringing even if you provide attribution
Avoiding infringement
• Paraphrasing is okay (from the Greek para
phrasien – to show alongside)
– Taking the unprotected facts and ideas
– while leaving the original expression behind
• Won’t save you from a plagiarism claim if
you do it without attribution
Fair Use
• Use without permission for criticism,
comment, teaching, scholarship, or
research is not infringing provided the use
is fair.
Is it fair – 4 factors
• the purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of a commercial nature or is
for nonprofit educational purposes;
• the nature of the copyrighted work;
• the amount and substantiality of the portion used
in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
• the effect of the use upon the potential market for
or value of the copyrighted work.
No bright line test –
each case considered ad hoc
• Salinger – 200 words from unpublished
letters not okay
• Harper – 300 words from 20,000-word
autobiography not okay
• Maxtone-Graham – 7,000 words from
interviews for critical socio political work
okay
No bright line test for other media
• But there are some best practices
– Center for Social Media
– Fair Use Guidelines for Educational
Multimedia
Who owns the rights in your work
• Co-authors
• University
• Journal publisher
Questions
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