Missouri State University
General Statement on Copyright Policy

Missouri State University is dedicated to adhering to copyright law. Consequently, the University urges you to become familiar with the principles and rules which govern use of works protected by copyright.

What is "copyright" and who cares?

The right to make copies of another’s work is severely restricted in the United States and throughout the world. By securing the benefits of ownership to creators of intellectual property, the government encourages production and dissemination of socially valuable creations. Unauthorized use of another person’s intellectual property is a form of theft which discourages creativity.

Violation of copyright law carries substantial penalties. Civil and criminal penalties can be imposed for copyright infringement, including award of actual and punitive monetary damages. When you infringe copyright, you may also be exposing to liability the University and businesses such as copy shops.

However, complying with copyright law is often difficult because of the complexity of the rules which govern how and when you can use intellectual property owned by another person or organization. Some of us may be stealing others’ intellectual property without knowing it. At the same time, you should not be deterred from using the work of others simply because you are uncertain about what is copyrighted, what constitutes "fair use," and how to get permission to use copyrighted works.

What works are protected by copyright law?

Copyrightable expression is original authorship, fixed in a tangible medium of expression. By this standard, mere facts and ideas cannot be copyrighted. In addition, works created by Federal government employees, titles and short phrases, and works in the public domain are not protected. Among the types of work protected by copyright are literary productions, musical notation and recorded music, pictures and graphics, motion pictures and video footage, databases, Web pages, and computer programs.

Just because a work is out-of-print or "old" does not mean that it is unprotected. Similarly, absence of a statement that the work is copyrighted does not mean that you are free to use it. Assume that all material is copyrighted unless its source states clearly that it is not. New technologies, especially those related to computers and computer networks, raise novel copyright issues. For instance, a major problem recently developed with respect to transfer of works from one medium to another. In general, you cannot transfer a substantial portion of a work from one to another medium without getting permission from the copyright holder. Consequently, transferring without permission a musical recording to the soundtrack of a videotape recording or to a CD-ROM violates copyright law. In addition, you cannot assume that every work which appears on the Internet is in the public domain. Displaying an image or file on the Internet is equivalent to displaying it on television, in an art gallery, or in print; only the copyright holder has this privilege.

What is "fair use"?

You don’t need to get permission for all uses of copyrighted work. The law permits use of a portion of a work without the copyright owner’s permission for purposes such as teaching, scholarship, research, criticism, and comment. Four criteria must be considered when determining whether you are making "fair use" of a copyrighted work: (1) your purpose, including whether it is commercial or not-for-profit educational use; (2) the nature of the work itself; (3) the percentage of the work used; and (4) the effect of the use on the work’s market value [see http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm].

These criteria allow teachers to distribute in their classes portions of works which are protected. Instructors generally don’t need permission to display copyrighted works in their classrooms, to distribute some portions of such works to their students, and to engage in one-use only copying. In addition, there are many "educational use exemptions" which allow the performance or display of copyrighted work during face-to-face teaching activities in a nonprofit educational institution.

However, you are not exempt from copyright laws simply because you are putting copied material to educational use, or because you are not selling or profiting from the distribution of copyrighted works. Your use must meet specific tests of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect. You should never copy works in order to replace or substitute for published anthologies, compilations, or collected works.

What constitutes permission and how do you get it?

You are required to obtain permission to use a copyrighted work when your use falls outside the standards of "fair use" and "educational use exemptions." Permission must be secured from the current copyright holder, which may not be the author or the publisher identified in the work. Permission must be in writing.

In order to get permission, you should contact the copyright owner, saying exactly what you want to copy, the number of copies to be made, and whether the material is to be used alone or in combination with other material. Such requests should generally be directed to the publisher’s Rights and Permissions Department. In case the publisher is not the copyright holder, or does not have the right to authorize a particular use, you will usually be directed to the correct person or agency.

Remember that no response is not the same as a positive response. If you don’t hear from an author or publisher from whom you have requested permission to use a copyrighted work, you simply don’t have permission.

Because computer software falls under copyright law, you should also be aware of the specific licensing agreements which control copying programs. A program user should consult the license agreement to determine whether copying a particular program is permissible. You are usually allowed to create only a backup copy [see http://www.siia.net/piracy/pubs/schoolsoftwareuse.pdf].

Where can I find answers to specific copyright questions?

In addition to discouraging copyright infringement, Missouri State wants to make available in its classrooms and through distance learning the best information available. In order to prevent conflict between legal restrictions and effective teaching, Missouri State provides a wide variety of information resources about copyright.

A useful booklet, Questions and Answers on Copyright, is available in Meyer Library and online. Librarians can direct you to resources which might answer particular questions.  Assistance in getting permissions is available through the Missouri State Bookstore. Academic Outreach provides help in obtaining clearance for the use of copyrighted material for Missouri State online courses.

Who do I Contact

If you perceive a copyright violation on any Missouri State Web site or a peer-sharing copyright violation of music or movies, please contact the following person:

Dr. Chris Craig
Acting Associate Provost
Missouri State University
Phone: (417) 836-4852
E-mail: ChrisCraig@missouristate.edu

As outlined by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act,** the Copyright Office of the Library of Congress issued interim regulations and associated processes that encourage online service providers to designate an agent to receive notifications of claimed copyright infringement.

Additional Resources

• Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis
• • Contact the Copyright Management Center
• Kohn on Music Licensing
• Software and Information Industry Association: Is it OK for Schools to Copy Software?
• Stanford University
• United States Copyright Office
• University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
• University of Texas System Copyright Policy
• University System of Georgia - Regents Guide to Copyright

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