Guides: Copyright: About Copyright

Lone Star College System Office of General Counsel
The LSC-Kingwood Librarians are not copyright experts. These pages are informational only. If you have pressing questions, please contact LSCS Office of General Counsel.
U.S. Copyright Office
In other words, Copyright is a set of exclusive rights that the law grants to authors of original expression. It includes five rights:
1. The right to copy their work;
2. The right to distribute copies to the public;
3. The right to prepare derivative works including translations, motion picture versions, arrangements, abridgements, etc.;
4. The right to publicly perform works including live performances, broadcasts, streaming over the Internet; and
5. The right to publicly display their work, including web sites. You can sing songs in the shower and read a book in the library without
infringing, but reading or singing in public is infringement (Natanel, Niel Weinstock. Copyright: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford U P, 2018, pp. 2-3).

Is the purpose and character of the use for commercial or for nonprofit education use? Just because you can claim that it is a nonprofit educational use doesn't mean you can use the material carte blanche.

What is the nature of the copyrighted work? If the use is factual rather than fictional, there is a greater chance the use will be seen as fair use.

Are you using a portion or the entire work? The smallest amount of material copied should be used to get your point across, and no more.

what is the potential effect on the market of the copyrighted work if you use the material? It should be plain that "Fair Use is not a right given to educators or any other person. It is a defense applied in court to a charge of infringement. When a court considers a claim of fair use, it considers both the rights of the user and the rights of the author."

(Carol Simpson. Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, 4th edition, 2005, 40)

Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers (Xavier University)
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers (Xavier University, 2008) , pp.2
What Faculty Need to Know About Copyright for Teaching (American University)
What Faculty Need to Know About Copyright for Teaching (American University Library, 2010) pp 25
Copyright and Fair Use Guidellines for Educators: At Non-Profit Educational Institutions
Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Educators (Middlesex Community College, n.d.) .pdf, pp.4

University of Texas Copyright Crash Course
Comprehensive guide on copyright and fair use.
Crash Course in the TEACH ACT
from the University of Texas
LSCS Academic Integrity and Dishonesty
The College treats academic integrity violations or engaging in academic dishonesty by students as grounds for disciplinary action under the College’s Student Discipline for Academic Misconduct Policy. The College treats academic integrity violations or engaging in academic dishonesty by instructors as grounds for disciplinary action...
Lone Star College System Office of General Counsel
If you have questions of copyright, it would be better for you to talk with the Office of General Counsel before publishing. It will save a lot of headaches.

Public Domain works are not protected by copyright. These could be works not eligible for copyright protection, not creative enough, not created by a person or other factors. Works created by U.S. Federal employees during the course of their duties are not eligible for copyright protection. (Simpson 35) Educational publishers may use many public domain materials because there is no cost to use them, and the publishers can edit the materials as they choose.

Here are a few locations for Public Domain Materials but you will need to double check to make sure their information is correct.

Cornell University's Public Domain
Cornell University's listing of public domain timelines is an excellent place to start. It covers most formats

Copyright Basics: Circular 1
For books: Life of the author plus 70 years. For corporate authorship, 95 years from the date it was published, or 120 years from the date it was created, whichever is shorter.

Lone Star College General Counsel
The Lone Star College-Kingwood's Learning Commons is not dispensing legal advice with this guide. If you have a question as to whether you can or should use some information, you should first check with Lone Star College's general counsel's office.