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Copyright Policy

SAUQUOIT VALLEY CENTRAL SCHOOL COPYRIGHT POLICY

Introduction

It is the intent of the Board of Education of the Sauquoit Valley School District to adhere to the provisions of the United States Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code, Sect. 101, et seq.). The following policy statements and guidelines constitute a manual for anyone in the Sauquoit Valley School District who wishes to reproduce, alter, or perform works that are protected by copyright. Staff, students and other users of the materials, equipment and facilities of the Sauquoit Valley School District who willfully disregard the copyright policy do so at their own risk and assume liability.

Copyright Discussion

Copyright is a form of legal protection for authors of original works, including literary, dramatic, musical artistic and other intellectual products. Publication is not essential for copyright protection. Federal law prohibits any use of copyrighted works without consent of the author or owner of the copyright except when the use falls under “Fair Use.”

Fair Use

The law specifically states that copyright restrictions do not affect the “fair use” of works. However, what constitutes “fair use is expressed in the form of guidelines rather than explicit rules.

Copyright Notice

Every photocopy machine in the district must include effective signage incorporating the following text: Notice: The copyright law of the United States (Title 17 U.S. Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. The person using this equipment is liable for any infringement.

Guidelines for written materials

Teachers may reproduce material for classroom use if FOUR tests are passed:

  1. Brevity: The length of the material to be reproduced should be no more than 250 words of poetry, a single article, a story or essay of up to 2500 words, or an excerpt of up to 10% of the work. A single illustration may be copied from a book or periodical.
  2. Spontaneity: The reproduction must be decided close to the time of use. It may not be done at the direction of higher authority.
  3. Cumulative use: During each term, a teacher may make copies (but no more than a total of 9 different ones) of:
              a) one complete work
              b) two excerpts from the same author
              c) three selections from one collected work or periodical
    Restrictions: No more than one copy of each may be made per student. May not reproduce same work from term to term. Use reproductions to replace anthologies or avoid purchasing textbooks. No copies from “consumable” workbooks.
  4. Notice: Each work must bear a copyright notice including year of publication and name of copyright owner.

Audiovisual Materials

Classroom use Audiovisual materials which are part of the Oneida-Herkimer BOCES Media Library include public performance rights. Use of ANY other audio visual materials must be in accordance with the following guidelines.

Other materials must be shown: 1. as part of the instructional program. 2. by students, instructors, or guest lecturers. 3. in a classroom or other school location devoted to instruction. 4. with an instructor present in the classroom. 5. only to students and educators. 6. using a legitimate (that is, not illegally reproduced) copy with the copyright notice included.

Copying

Copying videotapes without the owner’s permission is illegal except when following the following guidelines:

  1. May be kept for no more than 45 calendar days after the recording date.
  2. May be shown to students only within the first 10 school days of the 45 day retention period.
  3. May be viewed after the 10 day period only by the instructors for evaluation purposes.
  4. May not be physically or electronically altered or combined with others to form anthologies.
  5. All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notice.

Notice: Copied audiovisual materials must meet the Classroom Use criteria.

Computer Software

Classroom Use Computer software is protected by Federal copyright laws. In addition to the copyright laws, there is a license agreement between the software seller and the purchaser to protect the software. It is the policy of the Sauquoit Valley Central School District to respect federal copyright and license protections. License agreements allow the District to make and use one copy of the specified version of the software product on any single computer at any time. Multiple licenses allow for the use of as many copies of the software as there are licenses. Software is considered to be “in use” when it is loaded into temporary memory (RAM), or installed into the permanent memory (hard disk, CD- ROM or other storage device).

In general, the following policies and procedures apply:

  1. Software provided through the school for use by faculty, staff and students may be used on computing equipment only as specified in the specific software licenses.
  2. Licensed software may not be copied on school equipment except as specifically permitted by the software license.
  3. Faculty, staff and students may not copy district-owned software from district computers, nor can they use unlicensed or unauthorized copies of software on school-owned computers.

Copying

Because computer software is extremely susceptible to copying, software piracy is a serious matter. Federal law allows copyrighted software to be copied under TWO specific circumstances:

  1. To make one copy of the software solely for backup or archival purposes
  2. To transfer software to a single hard drive, provided the original is kept solely for archival purposes. The written materials accompanying software may not be copied.

Music

Music may be copied for educational use under the following circumstances:

  1. Emergency copying for a performance is permitted so long as replacement copies are subsequently purchased.
  2. Single copies of an entire performable unit (section, movement, aria etc.,) for personal scholarship or library reserve use may be made if the unit is out of print or available only in a larger work
  3. Multiple copies may be made for classroom use only if the excerpts compromise no more than 10% of the whole work and are not a performable unit

Performances

Permission must be secured by the copyright owner whenever copyrighted works, such as plays and musical numbers are to be performed. The person in charge of the performance is responsible for securing the permission.

District-Owned Copyright

The copyright to material which is produced on behalf of the district or as part of an employee’s normal duties is the property of the district

Adopted: ___________________ B.O.E.