New Copyright Guidelines
for Employees, Students

Newly adopted guidelines for Maricopa Community College District employees and students provide helpful guidance on what is allowed-and not allowed-under US copyright law.

According to Maricopa administrative regulation, "It is the intent of the Governing Board of the Maricopa County Community College District to adhere to the provisions of the US Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code, Section 101 et seq.)."

This regulation further directs the Chancellor "to develop and distribute to employees guidelines that (1) clearly discourage violation of the Copyright Law and (2) inform employees of their rights and responsibilities under the Copyright Law."
Copyright law protects copyrightable works. A work is copyrightable if it is an original work of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Categories of copyrightable expression include literary, musical and dramatic works; sound recordings; pantomimes and choreographic works; motion pictures and other audiovisual productions; and pictorial, graphic and sculptural works.

A copyright is created as soon as a work is fixed. Neither registration with government officials nor even a copyright notice on the work itself is required for copyright protection to exist.

Copyright does not, however, protect ideas, principles, concepts or discoveries.

The holder of a copyright in a particular work gives that holder the exclusive right to copy the work, prepare derivative works based on the work, and distribute the work via sale or other transfer of ownership or via rental, lease or lending. Certain categories of copyrightable works have additional rights, such as public display and performance.

Generally, a person who wishes to copy, distribute, perform, display, or prepare a derivative version of a copyrighted work must first obtain permission to do so from the copyright holder. The new guidelines contain detailed guidance for obtaining such permission. They give direction in how to locate the owner of a copyright and obtain permission from that owner.

Not all works, however, are protected by copyright law. Older works, for example, may be in the public domain. Public domain works are free for all to copy and use without prior permission.

The guidelines provide useful help in determining whether an older work is indeed in the public domain.

Simply because a work is copyrighted does not mean that permission to copy, distribute or perform must always be first obtained. The copyright guidelines detail the various exceptions and so-called "safe harbors" provided the public under copyright law.

The most useful for educators is the doctrine of fair use. Under fair use, portions of copyrighted works may be freely copied and distributed to students. The law requires consideration first, however, of factors such as the purpose of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount of the portion in relation to the entire work, and the effect of the use upon the market.

For determining whether in fact fair use would allow copying a work without prior authorization from the copyright holder, then, the guidelines are an essential tool.

Finally, the guidelines provide direction on the use of particular kinds of copyrighted works in the classroom. They aid instructors in knowing how to use printed materials, music, sound recordings, films, and television broadcasts in connection with instruction.

They also offer valuable explanations of the special allowances under copyright law for copying materials in a college library.

Prohibited conduct under Maricopa's Computing Resource Standards includes "use of software, graphics, photographs, or any other tangible form of expression that would violate or infringe any copyright or similar legally-recognized protection of intellectual property rights."

Moreover, under Maricopa's administrative regulation on copyright regulation, "employees are prohibited from copying materials not specifically allowed by the (1) Copyright Law, (2) fair use guidelines, (3) licenses or contractual agreements, or (4) other permission.

"The Governing Board disapproves of unauthorized duplication in any form. Employees who willfully disregard this Board policy and/or the aforementioned copyright guidelines do so at their own risk and assume all liability for their actions."

Maricopa's new copyright guidelines may be found under "Intellectual Property" on this Web site.

Published in the Winter 2003 Edition of In Brief