Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials Procedures

A. Procedures for Photocopying Print Materials for Educational Purposes

Copyrighted print materials may not be photocopied without the prior permission of the copyright owner unless the circumstances satisfy the requirements for fair use.

The following guidelines set forth are to be used to determine whether or not the prior permission of the copyright owner shall be sought. If the proposed photocopying is not permitted under the guidelines, the permission of the copyright owner shall be sought. After permission has been sought, copying may be undertaken only if permission has been granted and in accordance with the terms of the permission, except as provided in Section F. of these regulations.

1. Single Copying for Instructors

A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for an instructor at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or for use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:

  1. A chapter from a book;
  2. An article from a periodical or newspaper
  3. A short story, short essay, or short poem, whether or not from a collective work; or,
  4. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

2. Multiple Copies for Classroom Use

Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made for classroom use or discussion by or for the teacher of the course provided that:

  1. The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined in this procedure; and;
  2. Meets the cumulative effect test as defined in this procedure; and,
  3. Includes a notice of copyright on each copy.

3. Test Definitions

I. Brevity

Note: Each of the numerical limits stated in 1. Poetry and 2. Prose may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.

  1. Poetry:

    1. A complete poem, if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages; or,
    2. From a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
  2. Prose:
    1. Either a complete article, story, or essay of less than 2,500 words; or,
    2. An excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words.
  3. Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue.
  4. "Special" Works: Certain works in poetry, prose, or in "poetic prose" which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety. "Special works" may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt comprising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10 percent of the words found in the text thereof may be reproduced.

II. Spontaneity

  1. The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and,
  2. The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.

III. Cumulative Effect

  1. The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
  2. Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
  3. There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

Note: The limitations stated in 2 and 3 shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.

4. Prohibitions

As to 1. Single Copying for Instructors and 2. Multiple Copies for Classroom Use: Notwithstanding any of the above, the following shall be prohibited:

  1. Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts are accumulated or are reproduced and used separately.
  2. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable materials.
  3. Copying shall not:
    1. Substitute for the purchase of books, publisher's reprints, or periodicals;
    2. Be directed by higher authority; or
    3. Be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.

No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.

B. Procedure for Copying Audio-Visual Materials

Copyrighted audio-visual materials may not be recorded or otherwise copied without the prior permission of the copyright owner unless circumstances satisfy the requirements for fair use or unless copying is permitted by a license or purchase agreement. The following guidelines set forth reflect the application of fair use to the off-air recording, retention, and use of television broadcast programs for education purposes.

If the proposed recording or copying of an audio-visual work is not permitted under these guidelines or through a license or purchase agreement, the permission of the copyright owner shall be sought. After permission has been sought, copying may be undertaken only if permission is obtained and in accordance with the terms of the permission, except as provided in Section F. of these regulations.

C. Procedure for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes

  1. The guidelines were developed to apply only to off-air recording by non-profit educational institutions.
  2. A broadcast program may be recorded off-air simultaneously with broadcast transmission (including simultaneous cable re-transmission) and retained by a non-profit educational institution for a period not to exceed the first 45 consecutive calendar days after the date of recording. Upon conclusion of such retention period, all off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed immediately. "Broadcast programs" are television programs transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge.
  3. Off-air recordings may be used once by individual instructors in the course of relevant teaching activities and repeated once only when instructional reinforcement is necessary in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster, or campus, as well as in the homes of students receiving formalized home instruction, during the first 10 consecutive school days in the 45-calendar-day retention period.
  4. Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of and used by individual instructors and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. No broadcast program may be recorded off-air more than once at the request of the same instructor, regardless of the number of times the program may be broadcast.
  5. A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of instructors under these guidelines. Each such additional copy shall be subject to all provisions governing the original recording.
  6. After the first 10 consecutive school days, off-air recordings may be used up to the end of the 45 calendar-day retention period only for teacher evaluation purposes (e.g., to determine whether or not to include the broadcast program in the teaching curriculum) and may not be used in the recording institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purpose without authorization.
  7. Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but the recorded programs may not be altered from their original content. Off-air recordings may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.
  8. All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notice on the broadcast program as recorded.
  9. Educational institutions are expected to establish appropriate control procedures to maintain the integrity of these guidelines. At Central Piedmont the Copyright Compliance Steering Committee has been charged with this responsibility.

D. Procedure for Copying Computer Programs

Generally, the owner of a copyright in a computer program has exclusive rights in the program, including the right to use, reproduce, and create adaptations of the programs. The use, reproduction, or creation of an adaptation of a computer program or its documentation without the permission of the copyright owner is a violation of federal copyright law and could result in monetary and/or criminal liability.

Copyright law allows the purchaser of a computer program to make one backup copy of the program. The backup copy may only be used if the original copy is no longer functional and must be destroyed when rights to use the original copy of the computer program end.

Programs obtained under a licensing agreement are not owned by the licensee and cannot be copied unless copying is authorized in the terms of the agreement.

Peer-to-peer networks can be used to share and exchange files, music, movies, software, and other electronic materials. The use of networks to upload, download or share copyrighted material, such as movies, music, and software, may violate the rights of copyright holders.

In the peer-to-peer file-sharing context, infringement may occur, for example, when one person purchases an authorized copy and then uploads it to a peer to peer network. When one person purchases a media file, creates a digital copy, and then uses a peer to peer network to share that digital copy with others, both the individual who makes the file available and those making copies may be found to have infringed the rights of the copyright owner(s) and may be violating federal copyright law.

The College advises all computer account holders to use extreme caution when installing peer-to-peer software and to read all user agreements carefully beforehand. Users need to read all available documentation from the peer-to-peer software provider and understand how the peer-to-peer software is configured and operates. Informed users are able to avoid unwitting copyright violations.

If the proposed copying of a computer program is not permitted under the criteria set forth, or through a license or purchase agreement, the permission of the copyright owner shall be sought. After permission has been sought, copying may be undertaken only if permission is obtained and in accordance with the terms of the permission, except as provided in Section D. of these regulations.

E. Procedure for Posting Material on the Internet

Any user of the computer network sponsored by Central Piedmont, including, but not limited to, faculty and student may post materials on a website associated with the College only if:

  1. The user owns the copyright in the material; or,
  2. The user has express permission from the owner of the copyright of the material to post the material; or,
  3. The material is in the public domain; or,
  4. The use of the material constitutes “fair use” as defined by the Copyright Act (for guidelines in Section II B. of this policy); or the material falls within another statutory exception.

The doctrine of fair use (refer to related policies) applies for the posting of material on the Internet the same as it does for the reproduction of print materials. However, because of the accessibility of the Internet, any user of the computer network sponsored by Central Piedmont posting material on a website should limit the amount of material posted and restrict access to the extent possible.

F. Procedure for Seeking Legal Review

The most frequent violations of copyright law occur, whether intentionally or unintentionally, in the following circumstances:

  • Use of copyrighted print material without acknowledgement of source or permission of author
  • Copying for retail distribution any copyrighted material without permission/license
  • Downloading any copyrighted material without license, purchase, or permission
  • Sharing of legally downloaded electronic media with person who does not have legal right of possession
  • Claiming authorship of creatorship of intellectual property not one’s own
  • Distributing unauthorized copies of copyrighted materials beyond a classroom setting (website, for example) in a forum that is publicly accessible
  • Quoting without citation any intellectual property not one’s own for use in a publishable document

An employee who has sought permission to copy and has not received such permission, or has received permission contingent upon conditions that the employee considers inappropriate, may request the administration to seek legal review of the matter.

If, upon review, it is determined that some or all of the proposed copying is permitted by the copyright law, the administration will so advise the employee. In that event, should any such copying by the employee thereafter give rise to a claim of copyright infringement, the College will defend and indemnify the faculty or staff member against any such claim.

In the absence of a determination that an employee has complied with regulations A., B., C., D., E., and F., no defense or indemnification by the College shall be provided to an employee whose copying gives rise to a claim of copyright infringement or a violation of copyright law.

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