- Author: Robert W. Sams
Periodically, I get asked about the use of text and/or graphics from journal articles or other copyrighted sources in presentations. Lately, with the use of web conferencing and virtual meetings increasing rapidly, it's an excellent question to revisit.
http://copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
Let's be clear from the start. There is no simple rule that covers fair use and it is important to evaluate every use. It isn't difficult or time consuming, at least most of the time. In the cases where it isn't clear, email me and I'll do my best to help.
So, what are the four factors?
Section 107 of the copyright law sets out four factors to be...
- Author: Robert W. Sams
Although my posts to this Blog are so infrequent that they might be better termed fossils, the Google Books Settlement has been a topic previously and it's back in the news.
PC Magazine has a reasonable summary of this saga here.
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2382404,00.asp
Interestingly, I think this modification to the earlier agreement does as much to advance the capture of published books digitally as it does to restrain it.
It all falls down to the difference between opt in and opt out.
Sounds like affirmatively agreeing to be included is going to be the standard, but at the same time, there is going to...
- Author: Robert W. Sams
Recently, a Federal court issued a ruling on suit brought by a number of major publishers against Georgia State University claiming that their "e-Reserves" system violated copyright laws. While the suit is not final and the publishers are said to be considering appeal, the initial rulings suggest an easing of the narrowest interpretations of Fair Use and ongoing support for the educational uses of copyrighted content.
However!!!!
These rulings also point to a clear and formal responsibility on the part of the user to evaluate each use on its own merits and on a number of factors.
Fortunately, anything that provides clearer boundaries makes it easier to judge a specific case and it also points to tools that can...
- Author: Robert W. Sams
Yesterday, I got an email from a county advisor with an excellent question. The question was, "Can I post a PDF file from another site if they insist that we post their logo, too? They don't charge anything?"
There were other requirements as well, but most were not a problem, such as no changes to the file, full credit to the source, no commercial sale, etc.
The logo requirement was a major problem.
The company required that their corporate logo appear close to the item on our advisor's web site. In addition, they required either a link to their site or that the logo itself be a click-through button to their site.
While there is vigorous discussion at many levels in UC and in ANR about logo's on our web...
- Author: Robert W. Sams
If you've been following the higher education news, you should know about the furor at UCLA about their classroom materials streaming media service and industry efforts to shut it down.
In short, UCLA was making copyrighted class-related media available for use to registered students by using a streaming server. For example, instead of sitting in class to watch Casablanca in film class, you could login and stream to your desktop or laptop anytime.
The legal basis for doing this...
