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Lucy Scribner Library

Scholarly Communication: Appendix

Copyright - Appendix

Appendix

Appendix A - Fair Use Guideline
Appendix B - Seeking Permission
Appendix C- Registering Your Own Works
Appendix D – Enforcement of Copyright

 

Appendix A - Fair Use Guideline

(Courtesy of Cornell University Law School)

Appendix B - Seeking Permission

It is prudent to first phone the publisher to:

  • determine who owns the copyright to the item you wish to copy and place on Reserve (publishing imprints are often sold to other publishers)
  • obtain the name of the contact person in the permissions department
  • learn what information you must provide in order to obtain permission to copy

Generally you will be asked to identify the:

  • college
  • class by name and number
  • term it will be taught
  • name of the professor who is teaching the class.

The copyright holder will also need the correct bibliographic information. For a book that includes author, title, publication date, publisher, ISBN, and exact portion to be copied (pages 1-150, the entire book, chapters 3-10, etc.). Once the copyright holder receives your request you will be sent an agreement to sign which must be returned with your check for the copyright permission fee.

The Association of American Publishers provides guidelines for requesting copyright permission as well as a request form that can be printed out and used to fax or mail your request.

Appendix C- Registering Your Own Works

Copyright protection exists as soon as you create an original work in a tangible form. Copyright registration is a legal formality that makes a public record of your copyright and provides several advantages to you.

Who should register copyright?

Anyone who has created an original work fixed in a tangible form of expression and wants to protect their work. No matter what form (book, video, computer software, musical score, graphic image, etc.) that original work takes, copyright laws protect it and copyright registration adds to that protection.

Why should you register copyright?

  1. Registration creates a public record of your copyright.
  2. Registration is necessary for works of U.S. origin before you can file an infringement suit in court.
  3. Registration will establish prima facie evidence in court of the validity of your copyright.
  4. Registration made within three months after publication or prior to an infringement will allow you to seek statutory damages and payment of attorney fees if your copyright is violated.
  5. Registration allows you to record the registration with the U.S. Customs Service to protect you from the importation of copyright-infringing copies.

When should you register copyright?

You can register your copyright at any time during the life of the copyright, but early registration gives you certain advantages.

If you register within three months after publication or prior to an infringement, you can seek statutory damages and payment of attorney fees if your copyright is violated. If you do not register your copyright within these time constraints, you can only collect actual damages, which may be nominal.

If you register before or within five years of publication, your registration will establish prima facie evidence of the validity of your copyright in a court of law.

Where do you register copyright?

The procedures for registering your copyright are found on the Internet at http://www.copyright.gov/where you can also print the required forms using Adobe Acrobat Reader. What you are copyrighting determines what form you use. The Internet site provides a list and description of all the available forms with instructions for printing.

If you have questions, you may speak to a copyright information specialist by calling the Copyright Office at 202-707-3000 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. If you call to order Copyright Office publications or application forms, you may leave a message 24 hours a day at 202-707-9100.

The address to use is:

U.S. Copyright Office
Library of Congress
101 Independence Avenue S.E.
Washington DC 20559-6000

Appendix D – Enforcement of Copyright

Regulations at Skidmore

Copywright

Current international law states that all original work is protected by copyright regardless of whether or not a copyright notice is attached. This includes unpublished manuscripts, news reports, public speeches, personal correspondence, photographs, graphic images, music, videos, computer software, and of course, published journals and monographs and any other physical expression of an idea. To be free of copyright an author (or subsequent copyright owner) must state explicitly that the work has been placed in the public domain. Any person violating copyright policies is in violation of Skidmore’s copyright policy.

Print Violations

(From U.S Copyright Office. Library of Congress. "Copyright Basics: What Works Are Protected?" June 1999)

Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible form of expression. The fixation need not be directly perceptible so long as it may be communicated with the aid of a machine or device. Use of the following categories of works without permission of the copyright holder will be in violation copyright law and of this policy statement.

  1. literary works;
  2. musical works, including any accompanying words
  3. dramatic works, including any accompanying music
  4. pantomimes and choreographic works
  5. pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
  6. motion pictures and other audiovisual works
  7. sound recordings
  8. architectural works

These categories should be viewed broadly. For example, computer programs and most "compilations" may be registered as "literary works"; maps and architectural plans may be registered as "pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works."

Web Violations

Forgery & Misrepresentation
Just as it is possible for someone to forge a signature on a paper document, one can make it appear as though a different person created a web page. The College views such practices as a violation of this policy statement.
FTP Sites
Creating FTP sites that distribute copyrighted information such as music, images, etc. is a serious violation of this policy statement.

Response to Claimed Violations

The DMCA agent (see ‘Web’ below) or person or office receiving the infringement notification will address the suspected violation. If necessary, the violation will be reported to the appropriate authority for investigation and adjudication as follows:

For claims of infringement by: DCMA Agent
Faculty: The Dean of the Faculty
Administration & Staff: The immediate office director and supervisor.
Students: The Dean of Student Affairs for action or delegation under the Student Handbook to the Integrity Board if the violation is related to a Skidmore course or to the Social Integrity Board if the violation is related to action not connected to a Skidmore course.
Union Personnel: Human Resources Director.
All members of the College: Any member of the College who believes that improper use of web pages has violated their academic freedom may present their case to the Committee on Academic Freedoms and Rights.

Web

When the agent to receive statutory notices about infringements under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act receives a report of suspected copyright violation, he/she will "respond expeditiously to remove, or disable access to, the material that is claimed to be infringing."

The Center for Information Technology Services (IT) will temporarily disable a user's account if it reasonably believes that the user represents a serious on-going threat to copyright violation or a violation of this policy statement.