Copyright is an area of increasing concern to educators.  Fair use of copyrighted materials has traditionally been given to teachers for non-profit classroom use. 

What is "fair use"?  Isn't it anything I do as a teacher?

Congress and the courts have defined what constitutes "fair use" by using a system that weighs 4 factors:

Character of the use  (educational vs. profit)

Nature of the work  (Facts, like the table of elements, are not protected; however if there is creativity in the arrangement of factual material, such as analysis of facts, then protection is high)

How much of the work is used (small vs. large)

What would the market impact be on the work if everyone used it the way you want to?

Teachers and administrators should be aware that the courts are very concerned about the fourth factor, with the intent of protecting the creator of the work from adverse economic impact.  

Usually the creator of the item, but the creator can sell his rights to someone else.

When does copyright begin?

Making copies of the work

Distributing copies of the work

Adapting copies of the work (changing formats, such as VHS to DVD or creating a movie from a book)

Public performance of the work  (showing it to a group of people not considered to be your immediate family)

Public display of the work

What are the limitations on "fair use"?  

There are many limits on fair use.  For example, fair use is a valid exception only within the physical walls of the institution.  Nothing on the Web is protected, including the web site your 5th grade class made as a graded project.  Once the site goes on the Internet, you are outside the "sticks and bricks".  The audio clip you used on the project's home page can be the target of a lawsuit by the creator of the clip.  In this example, original art produced by the students would be fine to use IF you had permission from a parent or guardian - student work is protected by copyright too!

Showing the movie to the class would be a public performance, not a fair use exemption.  Establishment of fair use for motion pictures requires that it be directly tied to instruction.

What does "tied to instruction" mean?

Showing  the film within the timeframe of teaching the unit is important.  Teaching "Romeo and Juliet" in October, and show the film in January means that the film is not tied directly to instruction (would you give a test months after the unit ended?). 

Also, the film needs to be appropriate to the subject matter.  Showing Kenneth Branaugh's "Hamlet" is definitely appropriate in your English Literature class.  But showing "Babe" to a class of kindergarteners at the end of a farming unit would not be.  How many talking pigs would the children have studied?  

Historical films such as "JFK" and "Gone with the Wind" pose interesting considerations because these materials are fictional in nature, not factual.  Showing a movie clip to give the flavor of an era is within fair use.  But showing the entire film is questionable.  Would you read the entire "Gone with the Wind" in an American History class?  Probably not - novels aren't textbooks.  Similarly, fictional historical movies are not documentaries. 

Pre- and post- film activities that tie the film to the curriculum are also very important in establishing fair use.

But no one will ever know!  Besides, you can't sue a school!

Schools have been turned in for copyright violations by parents.  Disney pays a bounty - rumored to be $5000 or more.  Warner Bros. also pays a bounty.  Districts have been to court over the showing of movies in school. Settlements have been in the many thousands of dollars.  

Want to learn more?  Here are copyright links.

District LMS

© Richardson Independent School District 2000  Last Modified: Wednesday, 16 July 2008