By Tamara Creech
I define Fair Use as using copyrighted material for educational purposes in a true learning environment without malicious intent to take money out of the copyright owner’s pockets. Fair Use is flexible to say the least and like most laws can be twisted around to support proponents and opponents of Fair Use. As educators, we have more leverage in making Fair Use work for us in our instruction and also if someone challenges our use of copyrighted materials.
Let’s debunk a few of the myths that come with The Use of Fair Use! We will just look at a few. You can find the full list of myths compiled by American University’s SOC Center for Social Media here: http://mediaeducationlab.com/sites/mediaeducationlab.com/files/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse_0.pdf
Myth 1: FAIR USE IS TOO UNCLEAR AND COMPLICATED FOR ME; IT’S BETTER LEFT TO LAWYERS AND ADMINISTRATORS.
Debunk: Get a backbone. You are the Education expert here. As an educator, you are in the classroom and learning environment several hours a day. You are perfecting your instruction and making the curriculum come alive for your students. You know what is needed to get the instruction across to the students. What do lawyers do? They call in the experts. Yes in this case, that’s YOU! Make your voice heard so Fair Use is clear and understandable for your fellow educators. Fair Use is flexible for that reason, so you can make it your own and apply it as needed.
Myth 2: EDUCATORS CAN RELY ON “RULES OF THUMB” FOR FAIR USE GUIDANCE.
Debunk: I have searched HIGH and LOW for Rules of Thumb for Fair Use and found little to nothing. As an educator, you are held to certain ethical standards in your positions and should have basic knowledge of Copyright Laws. You will have your own views of what is considered Fair Use and your school and district may have guidelines about Fair Use. Share your views with your colleagues, other teachers, your media specialist, technology specialist and administrators to make sure you are on the same page with your views or even in the same book. Use your views and theirs to come to a collaborative agreement of what your school would like to define as “Fair Use” and leave it open to interpretation and discussion. As forms of media evolve and your students get more tech savvy, you will have to revisit this topic often to make sure you are in the guidelines of what your school has agreed to as Fair Use.
Myth 3: FAIR USE COULD GET ME SUED.
Debunk: Know your rights and learn some legal language. If a copyright owner sends you a formal letter to “cease and desist”, it does not mean that they are suing you. If you know that you are outside the guidelines of Fair Use in your use of the copyrighted material, then “cease and desist”. If you are Using Fair Use Fairly, stand your ground!
Links to Further Help You in Using Fair Use Fairly:
· The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use
· Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians
Tamara,
ReplyDeleteI love the tone you take. My favorite line: Get a backbone. You say straight up what the authors of “Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education” say repeatedly throughout the document. In their words, “Educators need to be leaders, not followers” (p. 14).
I was among those who thought the rules of fair use were exact – a specific percentage of the work, an exact number of words, etc. It was interesting – and a bit scary - to learn that this is not the case. Strict guidelines make decision making so much easier, but, of course, there’s no way one set of guides could apply to the many situations fair use covers. So it all goes back to education - and educators. As the document points out, “the word ‘education’ appears prominently in the preamble” to the section of copyright law that addresses fair use. Just one more reason we need to be teaching critical reasoning and thinking skills to our students. They’re not going out into a world where all the rules are quantified and all the lines are clearly drawn. So it’s up to us to help prepare them for that world. As you said, we need to stop being afraid, stop being overwhelmed, and “get a backbone.”
Liz
Your clear, common-sense language explanations were refreshing, as in “get a backbone!” in debunking the myth that fair use is too complicated for anyone but lawyers and administrators. I like that you try to inspire confidence in teachers about their expertise. I can see, though, why this myth is so widespread. The law, or more specifically breaking the law, frightens people. Your other team member’s blog post right above yours is one example. Laws are written in complex language and having to pay for a lawyer or even go to jail add to the sense of stress and fear. As far as myth 2, the “rules of thumb” are things like: it’s ok to use less than 250 words of poem, but no more than 2 pages; it’s o.k. to use one illustration from a book or issue of a magazine; it’s o.k. to use up to 10% or 30 seconds, whichever is less, of a piece of music. In fact, these rules of thumb are on a handout the media specialist at my field experience site made and distributes to teachers. Reading the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use was the first time I had heard these were not the rules to follow. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDeleteTamara,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for “debunking” some of the myths about fair use. The myths you mentioned are exactly what some teachers' fear therefore they avoid using materials that can bring their lessons to life. I think everyone should read these myths, perhaps it will encourage more of us to “get a backbone” and use materials without fear of being sued.
Thanks for clarifying things and giving us the facts.
Heidi
Thank you for a great post! I saved the full list of myths to my Delicious account to share with teachers. I agree that Fair Use and copyright is intimidating at times. I totally agree that it is our job as educators/media specialists to talk with others and research to make educated decisions about what can and can't be used in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThank you for a great post!