Dana Medical Library

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Recommended Copyright Guidelines

Copyright defined

Copyright is a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code) to copyright holders. Among these protected rights is the right to distribute copies of their works.

In the context of education, "distributing" will be defined as reproducing material in any way and making it available to others. This includes:

• Producing print copies of copyrighted material and handing the copies out in the classroom, conference, etc.
• Converting print copyrighted material into any electronic format and posting it on courseware or a web site. This includes assembling the material to produce electronic class notes.
• Downloading material from a web site or another electronic resource and posting it on courseware or a web site. This includes assembling the material to produce electronic class notes.
• Downloading the PDF of electronic journal articles to which UVM Libraries subscribe and posting the PDFs to courseware or a web site.

Material protected by copyright

Original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device.

In the context of education, two exceptions to copyright protection are some U. S. governments and works in the public domain.

Using copyrighted material: the four factors of fair use

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
2. The nature of the copyrighted work: fictional or factual; print, media, or software.
3. The amount of material used with respect to the whole work.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market value for or value of the copyrighted work.

Dana's Reserve Collection and Fair Use

Physical Collection: Books

There are no copyright issues with placing entire books on Reserve.

Physical Collection: Videos

• There are no copyright issues with placing entire videos on Reserve, as long as the copy is legally acquired.
• Under certain circumstances, videos owned by UVM libraries can be close captioned for differently-abled students. These close-captioned copies can then be placed on Reserve. See: Close captioning of videos

Physical Collection: Photocopies

Fair Use

• A complete poem if less than 250 words or an excerpt of not more than 250 words from a longer poem.
• A complete article, story or essay if less than 2,500 words.
• An excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less
• One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.

Guidelines for placing photocopies on Dana Print Reserve

• Appropriate citations or attributions to the source will be included.
• A copyright notice will be provided on the first page of the material.
• Material will be removed from Reserve a the end of the semester.
• Permission must be obtained after the first use of the material.

Electronic Reserve

Fair Use

• A complete poem if less than 250 words or an excerpt of not more than 250 words from a longer poem.
• A complete article, story or essay if less than 2,500 words.
• An excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less
• One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.

Guidelines for placing material on Dana Electronic Reserve

• A copyright notice will be provided on the first page of the material.
• Access will be limited to UVM students, faculty, and staff.
• Access will be terminated at the end of the course.
• Permission must be obtained after the first use of the material.

What should be avoided

• Distributing multiple copies of different works that could substitute for purchased course materials.
• Distributing the same works from semester to semester.
• Distributing the same material for several different courses at the same or different institutions.

Alternatives to getting permission for Reserves

Course Packs

• Contact Craig Abel-Palmer at 656-8452 or Craig.Palmer@uvm.edu at the Print and Mail center for more information about course packs.
• Authorized course packs produced by the Print and Mail Center can be purchased at the book store.

Getting permission

• Your department can get permission for materials you want to use again from the Copyright Clearance Center.
  
  OR
  
  
• Dana Library Curriculum Support staff can seek permission for materials you want to use again and bill your department for any royalty fees. The calculation of these fees usually depends on the number of people. Contact Dana Reserve desk at 656-2200 or Dana Reserves for more information.

Fair Use Outside of the Library Setting

Photocopies

Fair Use

• See Dana's Reserve Collection: Print: Photocopies

Guidelines for distributing photocopies of copyrighted material

• Do not distribute photocopies as a substitute for the purchase of books or journals.
• Include appropriate citations or attributions to the source.
• Provide a copyright notice on the first page of the material distributed. The American Library Association recommends using "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States."
• Provide only one copy per person which becomes the property of the person.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

Courseware

Fair Use and Guidelines for Copyrighted Materials

Text

Fair Use

See Dana's Reserve Collection: Electronic Reserve

Guidelines for electronic distribution of text

• Material distributed electronically does not substitute for the purchase of books or journals.
• Include appropriate citations or attributions to the source.
• Provide a copyright notice on the first page of the material distributed. The American Library Association recommends using "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States."
• Limit access to people involved.
• Terminate access at the end of the course.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

Internet Sources

Internet sources broadly include all web sites available by internet browsers. UVM and FAHC affiliates have additional access to full text materials through UVM libraries subscriptions. This material is copyrighted, unless otherwise indicated.

Fair Use

• Create a link to the source, instead of downloading the material. Be sure the link opens in a new window, rather than in a frame in Blackboard or WEBCT.
• If the link to the source isn't easy to create, that source is probably available through subscription only. This information can be downloaded and used once before permission is necessary. See Guidelines below.
• Check to if the resource is a UVM Electronic Journal. If so, See Direct Linking to UVM Libraries Electronic Journals.

Guidelines- Downloaded Internet Sources

• Check the web page for terms of use. If guidelines exist, use them.
• Include appropriate citations or attributions to the source.
• Provide a copyright notice on the first page of the material distributed. The American Library Association recommends using "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States."
• Limit access to people involved.
• Terminate access at the end of the course.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

Direct Linking to UVM Libraries Electronic Journals

• Linking to Articles in Online Journals will assist you in creating direct links to UVM electronic resources. UVM licenses thousands of electronic journals and books.
• Example of a direct link:
  Malakoff D, and Bachtold D. Who Owns Who Pays? U.K., U.S. offer answers for journals. Science. 2003 Jul 4;301(5629):29.
• See Connecting to Dana Library Resources From Off Campus for information about accessing electronic materials.

Images

Considerations for images

• Copyright law defines an image as complete in-and-of itself, and is not considered to be part of the larger work in which it appears.
• The copyright holder of a image may be different than the larger work in which it appears.

Creating New Materials Using Images

Fair Use

• If image is available digitally, purchase, point to, or license the image.

  Image collections are available on Dana Library's Web site. Read the terms of use carefully before using images from these collections.

• If image is not available digitally:
• Use only legally acquired images to produce the distributed image.
• Limit use to no more than five images from one artist or photographer (the copyright holder).
• Limit use to no more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, from a collected work.

Guidelines for electronic distribution of images

• Include appropriate citations or attributions to the source. If there is not sufficient space in the body of the class notes or PowerPoint slides, refer from images to references at the end of the work.
• Provide a copyright notice on the first page of the material distributed. The American Library Association recommends using "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States."
• Limit access to people involved.
• Keep checking for digital availability and purchase, point to, or license the image when it becomes available.

Reusing Image-Containing-Material Created for Previous Semesters

Copyright experts disagree about the effort which needs to be made to obtain permissions for re-using images. Points experts do agree on:

• Reasonable effort should be made to identify the source of the image.
• If, after a reasonable effort, sufficient information to request permission can't be found, continued retention and use of the image should be subject to the four factors of Fair Use.

Motion media

Fair use

• Use only legal copies to create the work.
• Up to 10% or three minutes, whichever is less.

Guidelines for using motion media

• Include any copyright notice on the original.
• Include appropriate citations and attributions to the source.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

Music

Fair use

• Use only legal copies to create the work
• Up to 10 percent of the work but no more than 30 seconds of the music or lyrics from an individual musical work.

Guidelines for using music

• Include any copyright notice on the original.
• Include appropriate citations or attributions.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

Numerical Data Sets

Fair Use

• Up to 10 percent or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table.

Guidelines for using numerical data sets

• Include appropriate citations or attributions.
• Get permission after the first use of the material.

PowerPoint Presentations

Copyrighted material can be used in PowerPoint Presentations in the face-to-face setting, as long as the presentation is for educational or instructional use.

• See Courseware for Fair Use and Guidelines for Copyrighted Material

Sources

• List of Sources

Links

• Policies and Guidelines
• Dana Library's Close-Captioning Policy
• Information for Students
• Information for Faculty
• Electronic Reserves FAQ

Contact the Dana Reserve Desk at 656-2200 or Dana Reserves with questions about the information on this page.

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