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Copyright at Bryan College of Health Sciences: Basics: When Does Copyright Apply?

Basics: When Does Copyright Apply?

Thomas J. Tobin is author of a Magna 20 Minute Mentor, "Copyright crash course: How can I stay on the right side of the law?" (c2017 Magna Publications Inc.).  The Bryan College of Health Sciences Library purchased a Campus Access License to this presentation and accompanying materials in 2019.  Full campus access to those materials is available through Canvas / Faculty Help.  The following quotations set the stage for Tobin's very pragmatic approach to copyright considerations within an academic setting.

  • What is a copy?
    • "... define copies as intentional reproductions of all or part of original works, where the copies are located in a different place than the original works."  (Tobin, T. J. (2014)  Training your faculty about copyright when the lawyer isn't looking.  Online Journal of Distance Learning Administration, 17(2).  Retrieved from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/152962/)
    • A copy may be in print or digital (downloading a file that resides in a different place than the original digital work)
  • HAVE YOU ACTUALLY MADE A COPY??
    • "If there's no copy, copyright does not apply".  Any hyperlinking and streaming through embed codes are not considered copying under the law/"  (Tobin, T. J. (2017.  Copyright crash course: How can I stay on the right side of the law?  Magna 20 Minute Mentor [Transcript].  Magna Publications, Inc.  Used, by permission, through a Campus Access License, 2019)
    • Determine if you have made a copy before looking to see if the work is covered by ownership, a license, public domain or a Creative Commons license.  
  • If you have made a copy -- for example: a saved data file OR a PDF OR a copy of another person's powerpoint or other presentation:
    • You MUST complete a Fair Use Checklist to defend fair use of the item
      • Within a Library eReserve:
        • the librarian will inform you if a Fair Use Checklist is required
        • the Library will keep a copy of the completed Checklist on file
      • Within a Canvas course, it is your responsibility:
        • to identify the need for a Fair Use Checklist
        • complete the Fair Use Checklist
        • keep the Fair Use Checklist on file