Copyright

We at Kaplan produce much of our own materials for distribution to our students, and also rely on published textbooks which may be supplemented with publisher materials and/or library articles we have purchased permissions to use. But often developers want to supplement this material with additional materials. We want to use and bring state of the art information to our students but within legal requirements. Kaplan University is a for-profit (commercial) provider of education. As such there are copyright considerations we need to consider that may differ from not-for-profit educational institutions. What is Copyright and what does it protect? Copyright is a form of protection provided by Title 17 of the United States Code. (The Copyright Act of 1976 as Amended) Copyright protects certain kinds of creative written works, music, pictures, photography, graphics, animations, video footage, movies, sound recordings, software and computer programs, Web pages and more, whether the owner cares about protection or not. Copyright protection starts automatically when the work is created in a fixed medium. Copyright protection begins at moment the work is fixed in a tangible medium of expression. The term of copyright protection for works created after December 31, 1978 is the life of the author plus 70 years, and if joint authors the term is the shorter of life of the last surviving author plus 70 years from first date of publication or 120 years from creation of the work. Copyright protection for work that was created before 1978 is 95 years. The terms of copyrights were extended in 1998 by the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, Public Law 105-298, 105th Cong., 2d sess., 27 October 1998. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) of 1998 provided liability limitations for online service providers which likely includes nonprofit educational institutions but may not include for-profit educational institutions. The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization Act (TEACH Act) of 2002 permits governmental bodies and nonprofit educational entities to use some of the same educational materials in the online classroom as are used in the face-to-face classroom. What does copyright not protect? Copyright protects creative expression, but it does not protect ideas. Many different authors can write about the same idea, but one author cannot copy the exact words, or selection and arrangement of ideas from another authors work. Concepts are not protected by copyright, if youre explaining them in your own words. Copyright protection doesnt extend to lists (showing no originality), mere facts, exact duplication of public domain work, forms that only collect information, titles or short phrases. Copyright does not protect anything in the public domain. This includes publications more than 75 years old and not subsequently updated; works that do not include a copyright notice and were first published before January 1, 1978; and most United States government documents. Many materials in the public domain can be found on government websites. You would still need to give credit to the source, even if in the public domain. What Can You Do? Be sure to read the copyright statements related to any item you believe to be in public domain to see when the work was published. For example, the composer Beethoven has been dead for over 50 years but that doesnt mean recordings of his music are in the public domain. Copyrights may be claimed by the sheet music creator, arrangement, and/or performance of the composition. This same caution applies to a copy of a painting by Matisse. While the artist is long deceased, the rights to the particular painting may be owned by a private or public collector. Keep in mind that a copyright notice (the symbol) is no longer required for there to be copyright protection in a work. You should not rely on the absence of copyright notice in deciding whether a work is protected or not. What does protected by copyright mean? It means that the author is the exclusive owner of certain rights. Only the owner can: Make copies of the work; display the work; distribute copies of the work; perform the work; or create work that contains parts of the original. You may infringe an authors copyright rights if you: Hand out or post copies of her book chapter; download his song; play her movie to your class; cut and paste his cartoons and put them in a slide presentation without the authors express permission. What is Fair Use?

There are exemptions to copyright law that limit copyright holders exclusive rights. One exemption is fair use. The Fair Use Doctrine (U.S. Copyright Act, 17 U.S.C. Section 107) allows limited copying, without permission, of copyrighted works in educational settings, primarily for teaching and research, news reporting, and parody. Whether the copying will be considered fair use is determined by a four-factor test: y y y y The purpose and character of use (commercial or not) Nature of the copyrighted work (factual vs. creative) Amount and substantiality of copying Effect of the use of the work (for example, does copying reduce the potential profits of the copyright owner?)

There are no hard-and-fast rules that govern the application of fair use, since each instance has its own peculiar set of facts, which must all be weighed in determining whether the use of certain materials is fair use. Fair Uses application in the online classroom and digital environment is vague. Kaplan University is a for-profit (commercial) provider of education. As such what may be permissible for a state or nonprofit educational institution isnt necessarily so for Kaplan. Current copyright law may not allow the sharing of many copyrighted materials for educational purposes through online courses, and while the TEACH Act has addressed some of these issues it appears to do so only for Not-For-Profit Educational Institutions. The fact that Kaplan University is for-profit may limit and might even prohibit its use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes that other nonprofit educational entities can use. Thus, Kaplan, Inc. legal counsel cautions that the fair use exception may not apply to Kaplan University classes at all because it is a for-profit educational institution. For-profits are always on the commercial side and commercial use weighs against fair use. The Web is public, if its on the Web why cant you use it? Just because there is a Web site with information or photos etc. available does not mean you have the right to use it in your course. Copyright laws apply to Internet usage. Many Web sites grant usage permissions only for notfor-profit or non-profit use. There doesnt necessarily have to be a notice of or copyright symbol for the Web site to be copyright protected. What is legitimate to copy? Any work for which youve obtained written permission from the copyright holder and any work in the public domain. The most important copyright rule for teaching is get permission and get it before you use an authors materials in developing or teaching the course. If you need help obtaining permission, contact your Course Leader, Chair, or the Assistant Dean of Curriculum. Contact information is listed in Resources below. Creating Work for Kaplan University: When you create materials for Kaplan University you can use facts and ideas from other works but the expression must be original. Use your own words; make your own decision about the selection and arrangement of facts and ideas. If you are doing research, use multiple resources to avoid getting stuck on one way of expressing the ideas. Writing original course material may be similar to writing a paper for publication in that you might refer to other material to solidify the information you are passing on. You would likely need to request copyright permission to use other sources as this wouldnt be a paper for academic publication or in response to an educational or professional requirement but content that would be used to produce income. How can you be sure you dont violate copyright? Use original material created by you. Ask permission if you want to use something that belongs to someone else. Before you add or send anything supplemental to students, make sure it is your own work created specifically for your Kaplan course. When using Kaplan University works: Kaplan University owns many copyright-protected materials, including course content that is developed with teams of instructional designers and faculty subject-matter experts. Kaplan University also has the right to use other materials according to a license from a copyright owner, for example certain library resources. Kaplan University materials are only for use in conducting Kaplan University classes and business. Employees, adjunct faculty, and contractors do not have the right to use Kaplan University

materials outside of their work for Kaplan University. Examples include copying written works (including email), displaying visual materials, downloading software, copying marketing materials, performing audiovisual works, or creating any works based on KU materials. Seeking Permission: If you do wish to use materials in your course (text, charts, tables, graphics, photographs, audio, video, etc.) that belong to others, you and Kaplan University must obtain permission to use those materials. This sometimes requires the payment of a fee. However, if you are just linking to an approved Web site or providing an article through our online library system, no permission is required. The process to obtain permissions can be long, so please do not use the material until you are given the go ahead by your Chair or the Assistant Dean of Curriculum.