What does copyright mean for faculty?

Copyright laws must be followed by faculty members in their use of any type of copyrighted material.

Images

One main concern for faculty is the use of images in PowerPoints that will be posted on the campus intranet.  Permissible images must meet certain criteria (either be public domain images, licensed resource images, creative commons licensed images, or images that the copyright holder has made freely available) and attribution must be included.  Some best practices for this include:

● Knowing the sources of the images as well as the allowable uses of the images

● Attributing the source with the library's recommended citation

● Placing a note in the slides notes specifying why the image is permissible to use, such as it falls in the public domain, is a licensed resource, is a creative commons image, permission has been granted, etc.

The following are types of images that DO NOT require permission.

Public Domain Images

Public domain encompasses material for which no one owns or controls.  Public domain is based

on the year of publication, the type of material, who published the work, and other criteria.  Some

works in the public domain include works published before 1923 and works produced by the

federal government.  However, in all instances of public domain works it is essential to confirm that the image and not just the text is in the public domain. 

To determine if a work is in the public domain, see the slider tool.

For more information on public domain see Stanford’s Copyright Overview 

To check for copyright renewal see Stanford’s Copyright Renewal Database

Licensed Resources with Images

Some of the resources NEOUCOM owns have available images for educational purposes.  Material in OhioLink’s Electronic Journal Center and Electronic Book Center also allow educational use of images and materials. 

Creative Commons Licensed Images         

Creative Commons Licenses allow copyright holders to make their work available to the public with certain limitations.  There are six creative commons licenses (Attribution, Attribution Share Alike, Attribution No Derivatives, Attribution Non-Commercial, Attribution Non-Commercial Share Alike, and Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives), but all of them allow for the use of materials in an educational context as long as proper citation is included. For help see Citing Creative Commons Licenses. 

The Copyright Holder has made Images Available

Occasionally, copyright holders may specify that the images or materials be freely available.  This will often appear with the copyright information at the bottom of the text, and as long as the text specifies that the intended use is allowed, the image may be used. (Some websites also specify that certain uses are allowed in their terms of use. For example images may be available to use for educational purposes, and the site may provide a required citation or information that is necessary to include in the citation.)

Be aware that there is not a database or site where these types of materials are gathered.  Rather, the allowance is attached to images, articles, and books that you may be searching. For an example see Fundamental Neuroscience (click on U.S., notice the box on the right).

The following are types of images that DO require permission

Images from a website, book, or journal that NEOUCOM does not have access to or any copyrighted materials that do not fall into the above categories require permission.

Keep in mind:

● Obtaining permission can take up to 6 to 8 weeks!

● Permissions are generally granted for a limited amount of time; so, remember to specify the length of time you wish to obtain permission for the images in the request.  However, some publishers only grant permission as a onetime use.  

See Requesting Permission: Links and Tips for more information.

How can the Library Help?

The library can aid faculty by:

●identifying sources

● finding image citations

● assisting in determining where images fall in the above categories

● seeking permission, and

● finding alternative images 

The library will provide information and assistance as quickly as possible, but please allow appropriate time.  The library also wishes to educate faculty in copyright law and how it applies to the university.