Hartness Library System

Copyright, Fair Use and Plagiarism

What is Copyright?

Copyright is a form of protection provided by
U.S. Code Title 17 to the authors or creators
of literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and
other intellectual works. Copyright gives its
owner the exclusive right to reproduce the work,
prepare a derivative work, distribute copies of
the work, perform the work publicly, or display
the work publicly. The author can sell or assign
any of these rights to someone else, such as a
publisher. For works created after 1978, copyright
protection is in effect until 70 years after the
author's death.

See the Vermont State Colleges Policy: Using Copyrighted Print and Media Materials"(pdf)

For more information...

A chart showing when items pass into the Public Domain
Sample Letters to request permission to copy
More information about Obtaining Permission to Copy

Fair Use

Fair Use is a part of copyright law that
allows exceptions to copyright law to allow
for the needs of students and teachers. Fair use
is a set of guidelines; there are no explicit rules or
exact numbers.

The factors to be considered in determining fair use are:

The purpose and character of the use, including
whether it is for commercial or nonprofit educational purposes.

The nature of the copyrighted material (type of material, i.e., periodical, film, book, etc.).

The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the whole.

The effect of the use on the potential market for or value of the copyright material.

How Does Fair Use Apply to Photocopying for Classroom Use?

The Copyright Act of 1976 requires that photocopying
for educational use be of a limited nature, determined by the
brevity of the material, the spontaneity and the cumulative
effect of the creation. Brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect are defined as follows:

Brevity
1. Poetry
(a) A complete poem, if it is less than 250 words
and if it is printed on not more than two pages, or,
(b) from a longer poem, you may make an excerpt of not
more than 250 words. (This limitation may be exceeded to complete a line.)

2. Prose
(a) Either a complete article, story or essay, if it is less than 2500 words
(b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1000 words
or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event, a minimum
of 500 words. (This limitation may be exceeded to complete a paragraph.)

3. Illustration
One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book
or per periodical provided that the individual item is not copyrighted.
Spontaneity
1. The copying is at the instance and inspiration
of the individual teacher, AND
2. The inspiration and decision to use the work and the
moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so
close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a
timely reply to a request for permission.
Cumulative Effect
This phrase means the effect of copying on the marketability or profitability of the work.
Copyright Notice
While not required by law, the American Library Association recommends that all copies be marked with the following notice:
NOTICE: THIS MATERIAL MAY BE PROTECTED BY COPYRIGHT LAW (Title 17 U.S. Code).

Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Use and Classroom Copying

May I make a copy of an article, poem, or chapter for each member of my class?
Yes, it is permissible to make multiple copies providing it is just for one course, and just for this semester.

May I make copies of a favorite article for my students every semester?
No, repeated use would not pass the spontaneity test. You should request permission to duplicate the material.

May I copy several chapters of a book for my students?
No, copying several chapters does not meet the brevity test; also, it could affect the author's profit from his work.

As I use the same articles each semester, may I make up a packet and then just have one photocopied for each student?
No, this accumulation constitutes a course-pack, and heavy fines have been levied for duplicating these without permission. If you want to use articles or other parts of published works each semester, you need to get permission from the publisher.

May I copy sheet music to use in the classroom?
For use in the classroom, you can make copies of an excerpt of not more than 10% of the whole work.

May I use photocopied music for performance?
No, performance of photocopied music is a copyright violation. However, you may make a copy, on an emergency basis, to replace a purchased copy which has been lost or destroyed.

How Does Fair Use Apply to Distance Education?

Fair Use guidelines also apply to distance learning environments, including closed circuit television or Blackboard course management software. In addition to the guidelines of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect, limited access and limited time are also important in distance education. Limited access means that only those enrolled in the class may have access to the material. Limited time means that the material will be available only during the time the class is given.

In 2002, the United States Congress passed the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) that updates copyright law pertaining to transmissions of performances and displays of copyrighted materials. Such transmissions are critical to distance education efforts and online courses.

How do I apply the Fair Use guidelines in Blackboard software?
To comply with the Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia when using Blackboard software, you should:
a) Make sure the portions of copyrighted material you are using in your course meet the standards of the Guidelines.
b) Put the copyrighted material in a section of your Blackboard course site that is secured (using Course Options in the Control Panel). This action should meet the distribution requirement, because only students enrolled in your course will have access to that area.

May I link to articles from the library's databases such as EBSCOhost or InfoTrac in my Blackboard course?
Yes. This use is permitted by the database vendors, who have already paid the copyright fee. For more information on how to do this, see Connect Your Blackboard Course to Library Resources.

May I create a telecourse segment containing copyrighted text,
video, audio, and photographs that are relevant to the class without obtaining permission to use the copyrighted materials? Only students in the class will have access to the telecourse.
Yes. Most experts believe that showing the videotape to students enrolled in the telecourse is a fair use.

May I digitize copyrighted materials to a web page on the Internet?
No, it would not be permissible to put these same materials on a web site, as access to them would be open (not protected by password) and there would be no time limitations.

May I create a telecourse segment containing copyrighted text, video, audio, and photographs that are relevant to the class without obtaining permission to use the copyrighted materials? Only students in the class will have access to the telecourse.
Yes. Most experts believe that showing the videotape to students enrolled in the telecourse is a fair use.

How Does Fair Use Apply to Library Reserve Materials?

Guidelines for photocopying for an in-library reserve collection are similar to the Fair Use practices governing formal classroom distribution for face-to-face teaching. In general, materials may be photocopied for reserve for the convenience of students following the same guidelines for photocopying for classroom use. However, interpretations vary quite widely on photocopying for the reserve shelf.

The following Rules of Thumb are an interpretation of the fair use guidelines for reserve materials at the University of Wisconsin-Madison policy and the University of Texas:

Limit reserve materials to:
(a) Single articles or chapters; several charts, graphs or illustrations; or other small parts of a work
(b) A small part of the materials required for the course
(c) Copies of materials that a faculty member or the library already possesses legally (i.e., by purchase, license, fair use, interlibrary loan, etc.)
Include: (a) Any copyright notice on the original (b) Appropriate citations and attributions to the source
Limit access to students enrolled in the class.
Access will end when the semester or course ends.
Limit the amount of time an item is on reserve.
Materials are added to the reserve collection for one semester only. Obtain permission for materials that will be used again by the same instructor for the same course or for more substantial portions of works. If you must ask for permission, ask for the broadest scope you can get.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Use and Library Reserves

May I put several copies of an article on reserve for my class?
No. Although opinions differ on this matter, the conservative view is that permission is needed to make multiple copies for reserve.

May I put a copy of a chapter of a book on reserve?
A photocopy from a book may be placed on reserve only if the excerpt meets the standard for brevity and spontaneity. Permission is required for longer excerpts or copies that are to be used for more than one semester.

May I place a copy of a commercial audiotape, videotape, or DVD on reserve?
No. Only the original may be placed on reserve.

How Does Fair Use Apply to Media?

Fair Use applies to all copyrighted works regardless of the media in which they are fixed: print, electronic, or multimedia.

Frequently, college classes include the "performance" of audiotapes, CDs, DVDs, or videotapes. Showing or playing one of these items, whether purchased or rented, is considered a "performance" of the copyrighted work. These activities are permitted if they meet all of the following guidelines:

1. The performance must be performed by the instructor or pupil(s) (not by a performance artist);
2. The instructor and pupil(s) must be in the same place (transmissions by television, etc., do not qualify here);
3. The activity must be a teaching activity and not recreation or entertainment;
4. The activity must be put on by a nonprofit educational institution;
5. The activity must take place in a classroom or other area used as a classroom for systematic instructional activity; and
6. In the case of performance of a videotape or movie, the copy of the work performed must have been lawfully made. For example, one cannot show an archival copy of a videotape since it would not have been made in accordance with the provisions of the copyright law (see Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Use and Media).

Another common use of copyrighted media in academic situations is in the creation of a multimedia work. In general, students and instructors may create multimedia works for face-to-face instruction, directed self-study, or for remote instruction provided that the multimedia works are used only for educational purposes. Instructors may use their multimedia works for teaching courses for up to two years after the first use.

Frequently Asked Questions About Fair Use and Media

May I rent a video to show as part of my class?
Teachers may borrow or rent a videotape or audio-recording to use in a classroom setting. This permission applies even to videotapes licensed for Home Use Only, as long as they are used in a face-to-face teaching (classroom) situation. It is not permissible to make a copy of the videotape for later use.

May I record a video from television to show in my class?
Yes, you can tape it and use it in your class, but may only retain it for 45 days as explained in PBS' taping rights definitions.

May I create a multi-media project without obtaining permission to show it in class?
Photographs, music, or video may be used in a classroom, as long as access to the presentation will be limited to class participants. The copyright fair use provision explicitly provides for classroom use of copyrighted material. Instructors and students may perform and display their own educational projects or presentations for instruction.

Plagiarism

Hartness Library System serves the communities of two institutions: the Community College of Vermont and Vermont Technical College. Each institution has policies and procedures in place that address plagiarism and other issues of academic dishonesty.

The Community College of Vermont's Academic Honesty Policy defines plagiarism as "the presentation of the language, ideas, or thought of another person as one's own work in the preparation of a paper, laboratory report, oral presentation, or any other presentation."

Vermont Technical College's Manual of Policy and Procedure: Cheating and Plagiarism says that "plagiarism consists of offering as one's one work the words, ideas, or arguments of another person without appropriate attribution."

Both colleges' policies and procedures give examples and outline the procedures faculty should use when they encounter incidences of academic dishonesty.

Educating Students About Plagiarism

Students may have a rather hazy view of plagiarism. Some think that anything on the Internet is okay to copy, for example. Helping students to understand exactly what plagiarism is will help them avoid it. Providing them with the definition of plagiarism at their college and the penalties involved is an important step.

Giving students examples of what constitutes plagiarism is also useful:
1. Turning in someone else's work as your own, whether it's purchased from an Internet paper mill or obtained elsewhere.
2. Copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit.
3. Failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
4. Giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation.
5. Changing words but copying the ideas of a source without giving credit.

Many cases of plagiarism can be avoided by citing sources. When assigning research projects, faculty should let students know why citation styles are used, which citation style is required, and provide models for correct citation.

Using Strategies to Prevent Plagiarism

Here are some ideas for creating assignments that make it more difficult for students to plagiarize:
1. Don't assign an isolated term paper at the beginning of the semester and collect it at the end. This leads to last-minute desperation.
2. Instead require process steps for the paper. You might require a topic, then a preliminary bibliography, a thesis statement, an outline, a rough draft.
3. Make the assignment very clear. Must the paper be unique to your course or can the student submit it to other courses? What kind of research do you require? Which documentation style? Length?
4. Provide a list of topics and require students to choose one of them. Choose unique, unusual topics, very current events, topics specific to your region, or directly tied in with the essential objectives of the course. Change topics from semester to semester.
5. If you let students choose their own topics, be wary of a request to change a topic at the last minute.
6. You might want to require specific references such as two Internet sources, two printed book sources, two journal articles, one interview, etc.
7. You might want to require use of sources written in the past year. Paper mills usually aren't that up to date.
8. You might ask for photocopies of title pages of sources used or even the whole articles.
9. Ask students to get your approval of their sources before using them, especially for Internet sources.
10. Consider assignments other than a research paper, such as an annotated bibliography, an interview, a proposal.
11. Require oral reports and let the students know you might ask them about their research and writing process.
12. Ask for papers that start from a specific detail -- a passage in a text, a point of contention from a class discussion, a current event.
13. Meet with students individually during the research process.
14. Require some in-class written work prior to the submission of a research paper so you can gain some knowledge of the student's writing style and vocabulary.

Learning Strategies to Detect Plagiarism

Detecting plagiarism begins with a hunch or suspicion, and tracking down proof can be time-consuming. Here are some things to look for:

1. An average student hands in a sophisticated and error free paper
2. The topic doesn't match the assignment
3. The typeface on the title page doesn't match the type in the body of the paper or the paper is a photocopy but the title page is an original
4. The formatting is different from what you required
5. There are odd sentences stuck into an otherwise well-written paper (for example, a sentence that is more personal or relevant to the assignment than the rest of the paper, a sentence using a different verb tense or personal pronoun, etc.)
6. Poorly written or incomplete citations can be a sign of made-up sources.
7. All the references are older than three years (typical of term paper mills)
8. The paper contains a reference to its origin ("This essay is from www.essays.com -- join today!" on the last page). Students sometimes miss this.
9. Strange or poor layout -- Students sometimes paste the paper right into their word processor.

Faculty are becoming savvy in using the Internet to fight plagiarism from the Internet. Here's how:

1. Find some distinctive phrases or misspellings (2-3 words) and search for them as phrases in a search engine like Google, the largest search engine, or a metasearch engine like Metacrawler or Profusion.
2. Look at what's generally available on the subject in a directory subject search like Yahoo.
3. Look at commonly available electronic encyclopedias online like Encarta.
4. Look at commercial term paper services.
5. Use the homework helper facility of AOL, Scholastic, and comparable sites.
6. Use a plagiarism detection service. The most widely used is Turnitin.com, which does have a one-month free trial.

If you suspect plagiarism you can also ask the student to summarize the research process, make an oral presentation, and answer questions.

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