Answering Common Copyright Questions
New videos cover how to use copyrighted content in online courses
In celebration of Fair Use Week, we’re releasing four new videos that focus on how copyright impacts online education. If you’re interested in using content you didn’t create in an online course (or in a residential course, a book, etc.), the tips and tricks in these videos will help you decide whether you can use the content or find alternatives when necessary.
In the first video, we answer some of the most commonly Google’d questions about copyright law, covering topics such as what copyright is, what it covers, and what it means to infringe someone’s copyright. If you’re new to copyright law, this video is a great place to get an overview of the topics that are discussed in more detail in the other videos.
In the next three videos, we dive into how copyright affects the kinds of content you can use in your online courses by following two instructors who are creating an online course on dog training. Their course involves using a wide range of copyrighted content, including images and readings, some of which are crucial to the course, and some of which are not.
The instructors learn how to navigate the copyright issues that come with various kinds of works. They start by looking for images that could be used in their course because they are openly licensed or in the public domain.
When the specific readings they need aren’t available under an open license, they learn how to decide whether or not their use of the content is a fair use. They use the Fair Use Checklist to help them think through the four fair use factors.
The final video discusses tips and tricks for linking out and asking for permission to use a work when fair use or an openly licensed alternative isn’t an option.
