Title: Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia
Course: Dev_TOPKIT_SAMPLE_COURSE_Bauer_S_67

The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia set forth the following limitations with respect to using the copyrighted works^1 of others for educational multimedia projects^2, including the use of these educational multimedia projects in online courses^3:

(the following text is copied from the CONFU Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia^4):

Limitations– Time, Portion, Copying AND Distribution

The preparation of educational multimedia projects incorporating copyrighted works for educational multimedia projects, and the use of such projects, are subject to the limitations noted below.

Time Limitations

Educators may use their educational multimedia projects created for educational purposes under these guidelines for teaching courses, for a period of up to two years after the first instructional use with a class. Use beyond that time period, even for educational purposes, requires permission for each copyrighted portion incorporated in the production.

Portion Limitations

Motion Media

Up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, in the aggregate of a copyrighted motion media work may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of a multimedia project created under these guidelines.

Text Material

Up to 10% or 1000 words, whichever is less, in the aggregate of a copyrighted work consisting of text material may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of a multimedia project created under these guidelines. An entire poem of less than 250 words may be used, but no more than three poems by one poet, or five poems by different poets from any anthology may be used. For poems of greater length, 250 words may be used but no more than three excerpts by a poet, or five excerpts by different poets from a single anthology may be used.

Music, Lyrics, and Music Video

Up to 10%, but in no event more than 30 seconds, of the music and lyrics from an individual musical work (or in the aggregate of extracts from an individual work), whether the musical work is embodied in copies, or audio or audiovisual works, may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as a part of a multimedia project created under these guidelines. Any alterations to a musical work shall not change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the work.

Illustrations and Photographs

The reproduction or incorporation of photographs and illustrations is more difficult to define with regard to fair use because fair use usually precludes the use of an entire work. Under these guidelines a photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety but no more than 5 images by an artist or photographer may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of an educational multimedia project created under these guidelines. When using photographs and illustrations from a published collective work, not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of an educational multimedia project created under these guidelines.

Numerical Data Sets

Up to 10% or 2500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less, from a copyrighted database or data table may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of a educational multimedia project created under these guidelines. A field entry is defined as a specific item of information, such as a name or Social Security number, in a record of a database file. A cell entry is defined as the intersection where a row and a column meet on a spreadsheet.

Copying and Distribution Limitations

Only a limited number of copies, including the original, may be made of an educator's educational multimedia project. For all of the uses permitted hereunder, there may be no more than two use copies only one of which may be placed on reserve.

An additional copy may be made for preservation purposes but may only be used or copied to replace a use copy that has been lost, stolen, or damaged. In the case of a jointly created educational multimedia project, each principal creator may retain one copy but only for the purposes described herein.

Examples of When Permission is Required

Using Multimedia Projects for Non-Educational or Commercial Purposes

Educators and students must seek individual permissions (licenses) before using copyrighted works in educational multimedia projects for commercial reproduction and distribution.

Duplication of Multimedia Projects Beyond Limitations Listed in These Guidelines

Even for educational uses, educators and students must seek individual permissions for all copyrighted works incorporated in their personally created educational multimedia projects before replicating or distributing beyond the limitations listed herein.

Distribution of Multimedia Projects Beyond Limitations Listed in These Guidelines

Educators and students may not use their personally created educational multimedia projects over electronic networks, except for uses as described herein, without obtaining permissions for all copyrighted works incorporated in the program.

^1The copyrighted works used under these guidelines are lawfully acquired if obtained by the institution or individual through lawful means such as purchase, gift or license agreement but not pirated copies. Educational multimedia projects which incorporate portions of copyrighted works under these guidelines may be used only for educational purposes in systematic learning activities including use in connection with non-commercial curriculum-based learning and teaching activities by educators to students enrolled in courses at nonprofit educational institutions.

^2The Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia define educational multimedia projects created under these guidelines as those that incorporate educators’ (or students’) original material, such as course notes or commentary, together with various copyrighted media formats including but not limited to, motion media, music, text materials, graphics, illustrations, photographs and digital software which are combined into an integrated presentation. Educators may incorporate portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works when producing their own educational multimedia programs for their own teaching tools in support of curriculum-based instructional activities at educational institutions. Students may incorporate portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works when producing their own educational multimedia projects for a specific course.

^3The Guidelines state that educators may perform and display their own educational multimedia projects created under these guidelines for curriculum-based instruction to students in the following situations: for face-to-face instruction, assigned to students for directed self-study, for remote instruction to students enrolled in curriculum-based courses and located at remote sites, provided over the educational institution’s secure electronic network in real-time, or for after class review or directed self-study, provided there are technological limitations on access to the network and educational multimedia project (such as password or PIN) and provided further that the technology prevents the making of copies of copyrighted material.

^4The Guidelines specifically state that no copyright protection of these guidelines is claimed by any person or entity. Please note that the text of the preamble is copied towards the end of this document.

TOPKit Sample Course created by Sue Bauer, John Raible, and Jessica Tojo. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.