Intellectual Property In The Digital Age

As an in-plant manager, you stand to be punished if you reproduce copyrighted material without getting permission. This includes the Internet.

by Rosemary A. Chase

As online courses, tele-courses, course Web sites and faculty Web pages proliferate, online services providers (OSPs) should be doing their best to raise awareness of intellectual property ownership issues. It would be naïve to think that everything you do on a university campus is covered by the "fair use" exemption on the basis of educational purpose, or that you enjoy sovereign immunity because you are a state school.

For instance, my school, George Mason University, is currently seeking permission and maintaining files for journal articles, photos and figures for use in the Electronic Reserves System and Distance Education for applications beyond first-time fair use.

Publishers not only search the Web for their materials, but automated services (bots) look for files and materials not authorized to reside on university servers. As the publication of course readings shifts from photocopies to Internet and cable television transmission, your copyright assistance personnel will be in greater demand by faculty developing Web courses and engaging in alternative modes of delivery for teaching.

It would be wise to develop a partnership with your libraries during this time of rapid technological growth in the digital environment. Make it a part of your job to ensure that your school community is in compliance with federal copyright law to protect the school from claims of infringement. Learn the new law and its implications, don't argue its validity.

Why should you be informed about the The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA)? When your campus gets a "cease and desist" letter for alleged infringement found on your school's Web site, your in-plant may be in for closer scrutiny.

Why? The DMCA offers reduced liability to online service providers (i.e. universities) only if the following stipulations are met:

• Copyright policy education is provided

• Immediate action is taken to remove the alleged infringement

• There is no prior knowledge of the infringement by the OSP

• An agent is registered with the Library of Congress to field all complaints

When your customers bring print-outs of articles downloaded from the Web, you cannot assume that making further copies is permitted. You must educate yourself on copyright issues. Your university legal counsel is not going to offer you instruction on fair use. You must be a campus leader in copyright awareness.

Have available multiple copies of the Agreement on Guidelines for Classroom Use, as they were included in the House Report that accompanied the Copyright Act of 1976. Familiarize yourself with applicable case law. The AAP (Association of American Publishers) sued New York University in the early 1980s, and Kinko's and Michigan Document Services (MDS) were sued in the 1990s.

Your university policy should be clear on the amount of liability the university will accept (which should be none) when a professor goes out on his or her own to make copies, heedless of copyright compliance policy. If you can make the faculty realize and fully understand their liability for any infringements, then they will listen to the legal options.

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Let The Students Copy It

Dear CQ,

I can't find a textbook for the course I'm teaching. I've just put together a spiral bound course anthology of book chapters and journal articles. It would take a long time to get permission for all this. May I take it to the library course reserves and let the students copy it on their own time?

—Often Overworked Professor Smith

Dear OOPS,

No. The only way you should submit this collection to your Library Reserves Desk is one article in each folder, independent from the others, individually accessible.

—CQ

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New Prof In Town

Dear CQ,

I am a new professor on campus. What are my options if I want to provide copyrighted materials to my students.

—Trying To Be On The Ball

Dear On The Ball,

Here are your options:

1. Compile a course anthology. Submit a bibliography to your Copyright Assistance Office for clearance.

2. Select nine separate readings, no more that 10 percent of a book and no more than three articles from a journal. These can be sold individually at your bookstore or handed out in class.

3. Select books and articles for traditional Print Reserves. Submit a bibliography to your Reserves desk. Complete a Course Reserves Form. If you want to reuse these articles, the Library will obtain permissions.

4. Select journal articles and course notes for Electronic Reserves. (See Print Reserves above for details. Not everything gets copyright approval for digitizing a second time.)

So in a nutshell: Educate yourself. Educate your library and your copy center staffs. Appoint coordinators on your campus. Be a leader in copyright awareness. Know your university policy on copyright compliance.

Rosemary A. Chase has been obtaining permissions for George Mason University since 1988. She has participated in and spoken at a number of copyright conferences, including the Copyright Awareness Leadership Workshop and the Internet Law Symposium. She has also made presentations for ACUP, the Big Ten Printers Conference and other conferences. You can contact Rosemary at

rchase@gmu.edu

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