Waggoner Library: Ed.D: Leadership: Copyright & Doctoral Students

Why Copyright?

Why should you be aware of copyright law and fundamentals as you begin your dissertation research?

This is probably your first publication, and copyright poses questions for you both as a creator and a user of resources. Understanding the basics will save you time and trouble down the road, and will be invaluable for effectively engaging in an information-rich environment. It will aid you in your research, and help you to begin thinking about the academic publishing landscape, your own intellectual property, and how to best facilitate sharing your own work.

As scholars, we require and even come to expect access to the work of others, while as authors we may lean toward restrictive copyright policies, and this is a paradox that merits consideration. For a truly comprehensive guide to copyright issues for graduate students see Kenneth D. Crews, Copyright Law & Graduate Research: New Media, New Rights and Your New Dissertation. The PDF is linked on the left. Save a copy, it's okay!

What is copyright and why do I need to know anyway?

Copyright is a bundle of rights described in section 106 of U.S. copyright law. The most relevant include the granting of exclusive rights to the copyright holder to:

reproduce the work (make copies)
create derivative works (eg., remixes, translations, adaptations, sequels etc.)
control its distribution
public performance or display of the work

The copyright clause in the U.S. Constitution, based on the British Statute of Anne of 1710, is intended "To promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." (U.S. Constitution, art. I, § 8, cl. 8) Let’s break it down:

“exclusive right”: This language conveys the intention of the law to motivate authors and creators by allowing a period of time during which they can profit from their work-- a kind of temporary monopoly.
On the other end of the balance scale, the phrase "limited Times" acknowledges the social value and necessity for public accessibility of those works. This aspect is indispensable to scholars, whose core mission concerns the creation and distribution of knowledge, and the ability to access the scholarship and works of others.
Originality and fixity are the other key concepts. Copyright protects "original works of authorship" that are fixed in a tangible medium, including via electronic devices. The simple act of writing your ideas down is enough to invoke the protection of copyright. Copyright applies to original, creative work rather than facts, ideas or concepts.

Two Important Fair Use Questions to ask:

1. Did the use "transform" the material taken from the copyrighted work by using it for a broadly beneficial purpose different from that of the original, or did it just repeat the work for the same intent and value as the original?

2. Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount, considering the nature of the copyrighted work and its use?

— Association of Research Libraries, Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries (2012)

Fair Use Guidelines

What is fair use and why is it important for me?

Just as copyholders are granted rights, users are also granted rights in the form of fair use. In the interests of a free and open society that fosters creative work and supports research, there are limitations on the exclusive rights of copyright holders, which are described in sections 107-121 of the Copyright Act. Among them is the doctrine of Fair Use, seen below, which stipulates that, for purposes of criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, some activities do not infringe on copyright. Academic freedom and free speech depend upon the informed and active assertion of this somewhat complicated doctrine.

17 U.S.C. § 107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
the nature of the copyrighted work;
the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

— 17 U.S.C. § 107

The Four Factor Test of Fair Use:

Purpose and character of the use. Educational or non-profit use tends to be favored over commercial use. While your use of the material may be considered fair in the context of your dissertation, if you decide to publish it later, this may alter the balance, and you may need to seek permission.
Nature of the copyrighted work. Creative, imaginative works are afforded the greatest protection, while facts, data, ideas, and U.S. government work are considered part of the public domain. Interestingly, while your grocery list is granted copyright, a mathematical formula is not. The use of unpublished material is less likely to be considered fair use.
Amount and substantiality relative to the size of the copyrighted work as a whole. Less is more-- that is, using a smaller percentage of the work as a whole is more likely to be considered Fair Use. However, even if your selection is quantitatively modest, if it constitutes the heart or essence of the work, it may weigh against fair use.
Effect of the use on the market for the copyrighted work. If your use of the work would drive consumers away from using the original work, by disparaging it or supplanting it, it’s unlikely that the use will be considered a fair one. A transformative use that alters the original to the extent that it constitutes something new and original, however, would tend to be found fair. The inclusion of high-quality, reproducible images tilts away from fair use.

Two Important Fair Use Questions to ask:

2. Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount, considering the nature of the copyrighted work and of the use?

— Association of Research Libraries, Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries (2012)

Fair Use Tools

How can I tell for sure if my use of someone’s work is protected as fair use?

You cannot be entirely certain, but you can make a sound, good-faith decision with respect to a balance of the four factors. The following tools will help you assess the four factors with confidence on a case-by-case basis.

These resources will help you to understand how you can make the best use of the the copyrighted work in question. Also, you should save a copy of the evaluation process that documents your good-faith decision making process, which will serve as a hedge against liability. If your analysis leads you to believe your intended use falls outside the realm of Fair Use, you need to seek permission.

Digital Copyright Slider
Created by Michael Brewer and the American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy, Copyright Advisory Committee. The scale applies to works published in the U.S.

Fair Use Checklist
Created by Kenneth D. Crews and Dewayne K. Butler, the checklist offers user and institutions a simple way to determine whether the issue favors or opposes fair use. As you use the checklist and apply it to your situations, you are likely to check more than one box in each column and even check boxes across columns. Some checked boxes will favor fair use and others may oppose fair use. A key issue is whether you are acting reasonably in checking any given box, with the ultimate question being whether the cumulative weight of the factors favors or turns you away from fair use. This is not an exercise in simply checking and counting boxes. Instead, you need to consider the relative persuasive strength of the circumstances and if the overall conditions lean most convincingly for or against fair use. Because you are most familiar with your project, you are probably best positioned to evaluate the facts and make the decision.

Fair Use Evaluator
This online tool helps collect, organize, and document the information needed to make a fair use determination and to support a fair use claim, and provides a time-stamped PDF document of the analysis.
Fair Use and Copyright for Online Education. Copyright. The University of Rhode Island. [Website].

Images

There are special requirements for using clip art and stock images in APA Style papers.

Common sources for stock images and clip art are iStock, Getty Images, Adobe Stock, Shutterstock, Pixabay, and Flickr. Common sources for clip art are Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint.

The license associated with the clip art or stock image determines how it should be credited.

Sometimes the license indicates no reference or attribution is needed, in which case writers can reproduce the image without any reference, citation, or attribution in an APA Style paper.
Other times, the license indicates that credit is required to reproduce the image, in which case writers should write an APA Style copyright attribution and reference list entry.

Follow the terms of the license associated with the image you want to reproduce. The guidelines apply regardless of whether the image costs money to purchase or is available for free. The guidelines also apply to both students and professionals and to both papers and PowerPoint presentations.

Although for most images you must look at the license on a case-by-case basis, images and clip art from programs such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint can be used without attribution. By purchasing the program, you have purchased a license to use the clip art and images that come with the program without attribution.

This page contains examples for clip art or stock images, including the following:

For example, this image of a cat comes from Pixabay and has a license that says the image is free to reproduce with no attribution required. To use the image as a figure in an APA Style paper, provide a figure number and title and then the image. If desired, describe the image in a figure note. In a presentation (such as a PowerPoint presentation), the figure number, title, and note are optional. [Taken from APA 7th style Blog]

undefined

Dissertation & Copyright

Do I need to register my thesis to have copyright?

No. Your thesis or dissertation is afforded copyright from the moment of its creation; there is no need to formally register your work. The benefit of registering the copyright of your thesis or dissertation, in the event your copyright is infringed, is that you will be able to sue for punitive damages as well as actual damages; if you do not register your copyright you can collect only actual damages.

When do I need to seek permission to use the work of others?

If you want to include the work of others, in the form of reproduced images or charts, music, long quotations, standard tests or computer software etc., you will need to evaluate whether simple attribution is sufficient, or if your intended use requires you to seek permission of the copyright holder. Understand that crediting the source does not eliminate the obligation to seek permission. Sources must always be credited to avoid plagiarism.

Copyright Law & Graduate Research: New Media, New Rights and Your New Dissertation
A complete copyright guide for the doctoral student written by Kenneth Crews.

Permissions

How do I seek permission to use the work of others?

You will need to identify and locate the copyright holder-- whether author, publisher, or other party, such as an heir. There may be a formal process with paperwork, and there may be a fee involved.
Detailed instructions for the process of finding the owner and requesting permissions can be found on the Columbia University Libraries Copyright Advisory Office site. The site includes advice on crafting letters and model permission forms.
A permissions agency such as the Copyright Clearance Center can expedite the process for a fee.

You do not need to seek permission if:

The work is in the public domain. Public domain works include those written before 1923, and some authored afterwards. Determining the copyright status can be very tricky. Fortunately, you can use this regularly updated chart of U.S. Copyright Terms and the Public Domain by Stanford’s Peter Hirtle.
The material in question is openly licensed, such as under a Creative Commons license, or the author has otherwise explicitly granted permission; look for the CC symbol displayed on the work. Many sites and blogs are licensed this way. Investigate open access journals for research in your discipline.
You follow fair use guidelines.