This report summarizes research into the current application of fair use to meet the missions of U.S. academic and research libraries. Sixty-five librarians were interviewed confidentially by telephone for around one hour each. They were asked about their employment of fair use in five key areas of practice: support for teaching and learning,…

University administrators who have distance learning programs under their charge are on the horns of a dilemma. Given the growing litigiousness of copyright holders and the unsettled state of the law, it has become very difficult to establish failsafe administrative rules to guide faculty and student use of copyrighted materials. But the use of…

Copyright in the world of digital information is changing at a fevered pace, even as educators and librarians digitize, upload, download, draw on databases, and incorporate materials into Web-based instruction. It's essential to stay abreast of the basics of copyright law and fair use. Kenneth D. Crews has completely revised his classic text to…

Copyright law is a source of a great deal of bewilderment and frustration to academic librarians. Beyond the basics of copyright protection and fair use, most librarians struggle to grasp the complexity of the law and the roadblocks it presents to access and use. This article attempts to elucidate some of those complexities by suggesting seven…

This paper stems from the results of a systematic study of research library policy regarding application and interpretation of copyright law to reserves and electronic reserves. A thorough legal framework is provided from which the study's results are interpreted, and suggestions for research library compliance are provided.

Reviews federal copyright laws protecting computer software and what school districts must do to be in compliance with the law. (PKP)

Advancement of knowledge and progress in technology drives the need for protecting inventions, new ideas, writings, music, and other media. While abundant, intellectual property and copyright issues are not simple, and the United States has adopted multiple rules via treaties worldwide. Academia has been fortunate with regard to the freedom…

A guide to college and university compliance with the 1976 copyright act discusses these issues: the kinds of works that can be copyrighted; the kinds of acts that can infringe on claimed copyright; factual situations that can prevent copyright infringement liability when infringement has occurred; and obtaining permissions. (MSE)

This discussion of copyright protection for computer programs focuses on the "first sale doctrine" and "shrink wrap" licenses, copyright of databases, copyright ownership, and copyright notices. (EM)

The radical revision of the Copyright Act by Congress more than a decade ago removed many broad educational and nonprofit exemptions. "Guidelines" for copying materials for classroom use in educational institutions included within the published legislative history of the 1976 Act are provided. (MLF)

This research examines the copyright guidelines and policies from a purposeful sample of colleges and universities in the United States. It is a descriptive, qualitative study of 39 copyright and intellectual property policies and guidelines from these institutions. Compliance to the Teach Act of 2002 was the initial feature that this research…

Argues for a balance of copyright incentives more favorable to education: (1) introduces the dilemma of choice between infringing others' copyrights and observing legal procedure; (2) discusses Congress's accommodation of education under the Copyright Act of 1976; (3) describes a legislative solution; and (4) suggests statutory language for an…

School principals are informed of their responsibilities concerning the Copyright Law of 1976 in this brief leaflet. The leaflet begins with a short explanation of the law and of the guidelines developed after the law was enacted. The guidelines have direct implications for the classroom teacher. An outline of the more important concerns, with…

Schools' involvement in wide-area networks is increasing the need for copyright education for faculty and students. Copyright compliance policies and procedures should be developed along with proper supervision of school activities that have the potential to result in possible copyright violations. (MLF)

Highlights the intellectual-property issues that will confront telecommunications networks, participating universities, and other programming contributors who produce and distribute educational programming via telecommunications. Suggests measures that can help shield these entities from copyright liability. (MLF)