Course Website Copyright Issues

Instructors are responsible for ensuring that their course websites do not violate copyright law. The following information is intended to support faculty in making informed decisions and should not be seen as legal advice.

Best Practices

• Obtain permission to use copyrighted materials
• Review and consider the four factors of fair use for posted materials
• Include a notice that the posted materials are protected by copyright
• Do not make copies other than the copy needed for posting
• Restrict access to copyrighted materials, such as behind password-protection and/or for a limited period of time
• Restrict course website access to registered students
• Turn off self-enrollment in Blackboard after the initial enrollment period at the beginning of the semester

Fair Use
Use of a copyrighted work, including reproductions for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.

Four factors determine whether materials fall under fair use:

1. The purpose and character of use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
2. The nature of the copyrighted work (i.e., published or unpublished, fiction or non-fiction);
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole;
4. The effect of use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Fair Use Resources
UC Copyright Education website
Copyright and the Web
Fair Use
Fair Use Tools and Guidelines
FAQs

UC Office of Technology Transfer
FAQ, Fair Use Definition

UC Berkeley, Information Systems & Technology
Copyright Resources

TEACH Act Resources
UC explanation of TEACH Act
UC Copyright resources and reading materials
TEACH Act checklist developed for University of Texas faculty