DHooks_Copyright_Module 10

1. Chapters
Dr. Smith is a professor who has been teaching online classes at Hypothetical University for
10 years. It seems like in every single class she teaches, there is always at least one student
who is not able to acquire the required text in a reasonable amount of time (within the first
week of class). Dr. Smith decides to scan the first two chapters of the textbook (it contains
sixteen chapters total) to aid students with completing their assignments if they have yet to
receive their copy of the required text. The .PDF scans of the first two chapters are
uploaded to the class CMS page, which is password protected. From what you have learned
about copyright law, is Dr. Smiths copying of the chapters acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say that Dr. Smiths practice would be considered acceptable due to:

Educational purpose and character of use

Nature of the work
2 out of 16 chapters is not substantial
The students would still be required to purchase the textbook, in spite of the
delayed acquisition of the textbook. Plus the scans would be password protected.

2. Video
Dr. Smith is exploring options for an instructional video to replace a tired video in her third
module covering migration patterns of mallard ducks. She conducts a Google search for
videos and finds a video on YouTube. The video is the entire 23 minutes of a Discovery
Channel special. Dr. Smith learns that the video is copyrighted by Discovery Education and
should only be accessible through United Streaming, with requires the purchase of a yearly
license. Someone posted a screencast copy of the video. From what you have learned
about copyright law, would Dr. Smith using the video be acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say using the video would not be acceptable, because:

the video was shown in its entirety and

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the cost-free use of the video could affect ones likelihood to purchase a United
Streaming license

3. Music
Dr. Smith has created a video to introduce herself to her new online classes at the
beginning of the upcoming semester. Since she is teaching an Astronomy class, she feels
like the Star Wars opening theme song (by John Williams) would be a fitting song for the
beginning of her video. Dr. Smith finds a video of the opening theme on YouTube and
proceeds to record the song with her computers built-in microphone. She then puts the
song at the beginning of her introduction video in her video editing software. She trims the
5 minute, 52 second song down to just 5 minutes. From what you have learned about
copyright law, would Dr. Smith using the recording of the song be acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say that using the recording would not acceptable, because:

the use of the song would not be necessary for the purpose of a lesson
almost the entire song is used
though the popularity of the franchise would mean that this use of the song would
have practically no effect on the market for the original work, protection under
copyright law is not based on the popularity of a franchise

4. Pictures
Dr. Smith would like to add visual aids to a PowerPoint lesson that contains mostly text.
She finds a picture of a mallard on Flikr. At the end of the PowerPoint, she cites the owner
of the picture, giving them credit for the image. From what you have learned about
copyright law, would Dr. Smith using the recording of the song be acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say that the use of the picture is acceptable, because of:

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The purpose, character, and nature of the image is purely educational

Credit was given to the owner
Images on Flikr cannot be sold, so the market for the image would not be affected

5. YouTube video
Dr. Smith has a link to an external YouTube video within one of her courses that is not in
compliance with ADA Section 508, because it does not contain any captions. The video is
owned by a not-for-profit owner. Dr. Smith creates a recording of her computer screen
while the video is playing and uploads the recording to her personal YouTube account.
From what you have learned about copyright law, would Dr. Smith uploading the video to
her personal YouTube account be acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say the use is not acceptable, because though the purpose, nature, and character of
the use is educational and there is no market for the video, it is not fair use to pass the work
off as your own by posting is to your personal YouTube account. Videos on YouTube say
by insert username here. It would be inaccurate to say the video was by Dr. Smith when
the only thing she would be responsible for is the captioning.
6. Profile Picture
Dr. Smith is experimenting with using Edmodo for her CMS this semester. The interface,
likened to that of Facebook, prompts Dr. Smith to add a profile picture. In an effort to be
humorous, she uses a picture of the Michelle Obama that she found on a Google Images
search. From what you have learned about copyright law, would Dr. Smith using the image
as a profile picture be acceptable?
Due to the four factors of fair use:

The purpose and character of the use

The nature of the work
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the work as a whole
The effect of the use on the market or potential market for the original work

I would say the use is not acceptable, because:

the use of the image does not have an educational purpose

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though there may not be a market for the image, no credit is given for the source of
the image