In the age of the "distributed learning," copyright questions are becoming increasingly important. A journal article or illustration that was legitimate to hand out in class may not be so legitimate on a web site, where it might be seen or downloaded by millions of people.
In the past, educators have often relied on the "fair use" provisions of the copyright law, which allow limited copying of protected works for educational purposes, but the rules of fair use are widely misunderstood, and it's sometimes difficult to determine whether a particular work is covered by copyright. To assist instructional staff members with this ever-growing complexity, Cornell University Library has created a new Copyright Information Center, in collaboration with Cornell Information Technologies (CIT), the Cornell Store, the Office of Information Technologies and the Office of the University Counsel.
The goal of the center is to provide Cornell faculty, staff and students with general and Cornell-specific information about copyright. The center's web site at www.copyright.cornell.edu serves as an information clearinghouse and contains Cornell policies, general information, reference materials and information on the university's copyright awareness and education programs. It also includes information about copyright clearance procedures and the center's consulting services.
The Copyright Information Center also will offer consultation, training programs and a copyright clearance service. "Without these services, faculty may begin limiting their reading lists to avoid infringing copyright," explained Oya Rieger, coordinator of distributed learning for Cornell Library and administrator of the center.
The center has scheduled a series of workshops for instructional staff, titled "Unfolding the Mysteries of Copyright," led by Peter Hirtle, director of the Cornell Institute for Digital Collections; Patricia McClary, associate university counsel; and Tracy Mitrano, policy adviser for CIT. Each workshop covers such issues as creating a course Web site, using digital images or video and sharing documents. Three workshops offered during the fall semester attracted 87 instructional staff members with a wide range of copyright questions. The workshop will be repeated March 26, from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in 2B48 Kroch Library. Seating is limited, and those wanting to attend should preregister at the center's Web site. Group training sessions for departments also can be arranged, Rieger said. The center can provide individual consultation to faculty members on copyright questions specific to their research or teaching activities.
What may be the center's most important service is copyright clearance assistance, which includes determining whether material is covered by copyright, locating the copyright owner and negotiating permission.
The education and awareness programs will be free, Rieger said. For the clearance service, she said, "We are working on several fronts: trying to better understand the costs involved and also creating new funds to subsidize services." She added that the center will not charge faculty for the time involved in consultations or obtaining clearances for materials used in teaching. What remains to be decided, she said, is how royalty payments to copyright owners will be handled.
Comments and suggestions for the organizations partnered with the center can be sent to copyright@cornell.edu.
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