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Simmons College Copyright
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Books / Articles Copyright Scenarios
Scenario:
Copying for Classroom Distribution in Hardcopy Format only:
A professor would like to scan a chapter from a book (that is not an anthology or books of essays) and distribute it to students in his class in hardcopy format.
Response:
If copying and distributing the book chapter meets the CONTU Guidelines for
Classroom Copying, the professor may copy and distribute the chapter. Note that the CONTU Guidelines do not allow for copying a chapter from a workbook, test book or other "consumable" work designed for the educational market. Also note that copying the chapter cannot substitute for purchase of the book. If the copying does not meet the CONTU Guidelines, and a license to use the book chapter is available through the Copyright Clearance Center or the publisher, the professor should seek permission and pay any applicable fees. Chapters of books that are anthologies or that consist of separate essays are more likely to be available for licensed use by the CCC or publishers.
Scenario:
Copying for Classroom Distribution in Hardcopy Format only:
A professor would like to print out a journal article and distribute it to her entire class.
Response:
The professor should check to see whether the journal article is available through the Simmons Library licensed resources. If so, the article may be printed and distributed, or made available to students as through a durable link, if allowed by the terms of the license. If the article is not available through Simmons Library, the professor should consider whether copying and distributing the article complies with the CONTU Guidelines for Classroom Copying. If the CONTU Guidelines do not apply, the professor should consider whether a license to use the article is available through the Copyright Clearance Center or the publisher. If there is an accessible licensing program in place, the faculty member should seek permission to copy and distribute the article.
Scenario:
A professor would like to convert an article that was not written by him or her into a Word document in order to edit the content.
Response:
The faculty member, in this scenario, does not own the copyright to the article. Converting the article into a different format and then editing it may infringe the copyright owner's exclusive right to create derivative works of the article, unless the copying and editing qualifies as fair use.
Scenario:
A professor would like to scan a chapter or an excerpt from a book (that is not an anthology or collection of essays) into a pdf and upload it to her Simmons' eLearning course.
Response:
If copying the book chapter or excerpt qualifies as fair use according to the four fair use factors then the professor ma proceed with scanning and uploading the file to her Simmons eLearning course. If copying the book chapter or excerpt DOES NOT qualify as fair use according to the four fair use factors, the professor should request permission from the Copyright Clearance Center and pay any applicable fees.
Scenario:
A professor would like to upload a journal article to her eLearning course.
Response:
If the journal article is available through Simmons Library#s licensed electronic resources, in most cases the professor may create a link to the article and use it in her eLearning course. In cases where the licensing agreement for the electronic resource does not allow such linking, the professor can work with Library staff to identify alternatives. If the journal article is available only in print, the professor should use the four fair use factors to determine whether the use is fair use. If not, she should seek permission from and pay applicable fees to the Copyright Clearance Center or the copyright holder. [note that the publisher is not always the copyright holder].
Scenario:
A professor makes a link in her eLearning course to an article that has been posted on another person's website.
Response:
The professor should consider whether the website appears to be authorized to post and distribute the article, and if so, whether the link complies with the website's stated terms of use. If the article appears to be pirated or posted without permission, then the faculty member should not link to it.
Scenario:
A professor downloads an article from the internet and makes copies for students in his class.
Response:
The professor should consider whether downloading, copying and distributing multiple copies of article complies with the website's stated terms of use. If the website expressly prohibits such action, then the professor could be liable for violating the terms of use as well as infringing copyright. A better alternative would be to provide students with a link to the article, so that they can read and print it themselves as allowed by the website's terms of use. If the website does not have terms of use that address these activities, the professor should consider whether fair use applies, using the four fair use factors for journal articles.