Use of Copyrighted Works Policy

It is the Policy of Lesley University that all members adhere to United States Copyright Law.

This policy applies to all faculty, staff and students of Lesley University. Compliance with the terms of this Policy is a condition of employment for university faculty and staff, and of enrollment for university students.  

• I. Statement of Principles

  Lesley University is dedicated to scholarly inquiry, the integration of theory and practice in service to students and the communities that they serve. It is essential that all members of the community carry out scholarly inquiry in an open and free atmosphere that respects the rights of those who create the works used within the academic community for teaching, research and service activities.

  Therefore, it is the policy of the university that all members will adhere to the United States Copyright Law of 1976, as amended (Title 17, United States Code).

• II. Prohibited Conduct

  Except as allowed by law, no member of the Lesley community shall reproduce, distribute, display publicly, perform, digitally transmit (in the case of sound recordings), or prepare derivative works based upon a copyrighted work without permission of the copyright owner.

  Copyrighted work includes, but is not limited to: books, periodicals, music, paintings, photography, sculpture, video, sound recordings, software, websites, and databases.

• III. Permissible Use of Copyrighted Material

  Members of the community may use copyrighted material if:

  1. Such use falls within the "fair use doctrine.”
  2. The owner of the copyright has given permission for such use.

  Procedures for Making Fair Use Determinations

  The Copyright Act sanctions the "responsible, good faith exercise of full fair use rights" (17 U.S.C. § 107). Faculty, staff and students shall refer to the Lesley University Copyright and Fair Use Policy Guidelines to determine whether the proposed use meets the fair use exception. Those who require assistance with fair use determinations may consult the Library Director.

  Procedures for Obtaining Permission for Use of Copyrighted Materials

  Members of the community are required to obtain permission from a copyright owner if the use of the copyrighted material may not be deemed fair use or may violate a licensing agreement.

  Specific procedures for obtaining permission shall be developed, outlined, disseminated and monitored by appropriate university personnel and set forth in the Lesley University Copyright and Fair Use Policy Guidelines.

• IV. Faculty Responsibility

  Every member of the Lesley faculty, regardless of employment status, is responsible for preserving and promoting respect for the rights of creators of copyrighted works through example and instruction.

  Faculty are expected to adhere to this policy and the Lesley University Copyright and Fair Use Policy Guidelines. Faculty are also expected to be proactive in helping students understand the importance of copyright to the production of materials on which scholarship depends.

  Faculty are strongly encouraged to talk about the policy with their immediate supervisor or the Library Director. Faculty who become aware of any pattern of abuse by a particular student, should advise their immediate supervisor.

• V. Student Responsibility

  Upon enrollment, each student becomes a full member of the Lesley community of scholars. Every Lesley student is subject to the copyright laws and is responsible for understanding and implementing the policy and the Lesley University Copyright and Fair Use Policy Guidelines. Lesley faculty and the Library Director can help students further understand the copyright law.

  From time to time, Lesley students may be given online access to text, audiovisual, or other materials in digital form, by an instructor or staff member of Lesley, or receive from the instructor or staff member a digital transmission of such materials.

  Without limitation of the general policy, the following specific guidelines apply to materials posted on the Internet:

  • If the materials have been created solely by the instructor, the student will abide by any restrictions on copying, storage, distribution and other use that the instructor may set.
     
  • If the materials were created by someone other than the instructor, the student will not permit anyone, other than another student enrolled in the same course, to have access to the digital file, will not make copies except as necessary to do the coursework to which the materials relate, and will delete the file and all copies form their computer(s) at the end of the academic year.

  
  Any student who has direct knowledge or evidence of copyright infringement by another student should meet with the faculty member responsible for that course or the Library Director.

• VI. Infringement

  Determination of whether a specific use of a copyrighted work may constitute infringement shall be made by the Library Director and the Provost in collaboration appropriate personnel. Disciplinary action will follow Academic Integrity violation process guidelines.

• Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines

  Under the US Code, Title 17, the making of photocopies or other reproduction of copyrighted materials is controlled. Under certain conditions the law provides for photocopying or reproductions if the copy is not to be "used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research." This is termed "fair use."

  If for any reason the person receiving a photocopy or reproduction later uses that copy for purposes other than "fair use," that person may be held liable for copyright infringement.

  These guidelines, excerpted from The New Copyright Law: Questions and Answers Teachers and Librarians Ask (National Education Association: Washington, D.C.), are provided as a general introduction to the copyright law as it pertains to classroom use of photocopies made from books and articles.

  Single Copying for Faculty

  A single copy of any of the following, by or for a professor, at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:

  • A Chapter from a book; or an article from a periodical or newspaper; or a short story, short essay, or short poem, whether or not from a collective work.
     
  • A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

  Multiple Copies for Classroom Use

  Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the professor giving the course for classroom use of discussion, provided that:

  1. The copying meets the tests of brevity and cumulative effect as defined
  2. Each copy includes a notice of copyright

  Brevity

  • Poetry: A complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages, or from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
     
  • Prose: Either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words, or an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words. Each of these numerical limits may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.
     
  • Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or per periodical issue.
     
  • Special works: Certain works in poetry, prose or in "poetic prose" which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety.
    
    Such "special works" may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt comprising not more than 2 of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than ten per cent of the words found in the text thereof, may be reproduced.

  Cumulative Effect

  • The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
     
  • Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay, or two excerpts may be copied from the same author nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
     
  • There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.
     
  • The limitations shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.

  General Prohibitions

  Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts are accumulated or reproduced and used separately.

  • There shall be no copying from works intended to be "consumable in the course of study or of teaching." These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test booklets, answer sheets, and like consumable material.
     
  • Copying shall not: substitute of the purchase of books, publishers' reprints or periodicals; be directed by higher authority; be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.