Researching+the+Copyright+Act+of+1976


 * ** EL7007-8 ** ||  ||
 * ** Ethical and Legal Issues in an Online Course ** || ** 3 Public Domain Materials ** ||
 * Hi Steve,Impressive work as usual! You write and present your ideas extremely well! I cannot see how any mentor could try to “bring you down”. I chair 14 Dissertation Committees and I find nothing wrong with your work. In fact, I wish some of my Doctoral learners could write as good as you. Not many comments but please see below. Again, impressive work! **
 * Hi Steve,Impressive work as usual! You write and present your ideas extremely well! I cannot see how any mentor could try to “bring you down”. I chair 14 Dissertation Committees and I find nothing wrong with your work. In fact, I wish some of my Doctoral learners could write as good as you. Not many comments but please see below. Again, impressive work! **

=Outlining Copyright Fundamentals= In “ An Act for the general revision of the Copyright Law, Title 17 of the United States Code, and for other purposes ” ( Copyrights, 17 U.S.C., 1976 ), Congress displaced all previous copyright laws in the United States. Three factors motivated the change; major advances in technology, the participation of the U.S. in the Universal Copyright Convention (UCC), and the need to better balance the rights of authors and publishers with the needs of the general public. The last major revision of copyright law in 1909 came before television, sound recording, radio, or motion pictures and this Act was designed to address these means of communication. Although the U.S. joined the UCC in 1955, little was done to modify copyright law to the standards of the convention. The Copyright Act of 1976 (The Act) rectified this oversight. The exception of fair use has been applied to copyrights since the mid-19th century, but The Act codified the factors to be considered if a use of a work without permission of the copyright owner is considered fair use. The Act has many ramifications regarding creative works which will be further discussed and expanded on below. [ Outstanding intro]

Subject Matter
The Act extends copyright protection to creators of eight different types of works: (a) literary works, (b) musical works, including any accompanying words, (c) dramatic works, including any accompanying music, (d) pantomimes and choreographic works, (e) pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, (f) motion pictures and other audiovisual works, (g) sound recordings, and as of 1990 (h) architectural works ( "Subject Matter", 17 U.S.C. § 102 , 1976 ). The Act precludes protection of ideas, procedures, processes, systems or methods of operation, concepts, principles, or discoveries that are contained within any creative work ( “Subject Matter”, 17 U.S.C. § 102, 1976 ). According to The Act a work is protected as long as it meets three conditions: (a) it is original (but not necessarily novel), (b) it represents an expression, and (c) is perceivable in a tangible form ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Waxer & Baum, 2006; Wilson, 2005 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Rights Granted Copyright Holders and Term
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">A copyright is literally a right to copy, which is defined in The Act as an exclusive right of the copyright owner to (a) reproduce the work in copies or recordings, (b) to prepare derivative works based on the work, (c) to distribute copies or recordings of the work through sale or transfer, (d) to perform the work publicly, (e) to display the work publicly, and as of 1995 (f) to perform the work publicly by means of an audio transmission ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Exclusive Rights”, 17 U.S.C. § 106, 1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). These rights belong to the copyright owner for a limited period of time so that he, she, or it can directly benefit from his, her, or its work; then have those creations enter the public domain. Current copyright law in the U.S., for the most part, protects works for 70 years following the death of the author, or 95 years for works made for hire ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Duration”, 17 U.S.C. § 302, 1998 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Outstanding content]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Fair Use
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Act identified a number of exceptions to the protected rights of copyright owners; many which can be claimed only under very specific conditions. The most noted exception was codified in section 107 of The Act and is called the fair-use exception ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Burgunder, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), which provides an affirmative defense to copyright infringement ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">McDermott, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The Act identifies four factors that must be considered to determine whether a particular use of copyrighted material is a fair use ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Limitations”, 17 U.S.C. § 107, 1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Some of the literature affirms five factors ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Lyons, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) which are the: (a) purpose and character of the use, (b) nature of the copyrighted work, (c) proportion of the work used, (d) effect on the potential market by use, and (e) good faith.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Registration
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Prior to The Act, copyright protection was granted upon the registration of a work at the U.S. Copyright Office. The provisions of The Act state registration of a work is no longer a prerequisite for protection to be afforded to the copyright owner ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Copyright Registration”, 17 U.S.C. § 408, 1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). If an author wants to bring a copyright infringement action into court, however, The Act requires an attempt to register the work to demonstrate copyrightability ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Registration”, 17 U.S.C. § 411, 1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Strangulation of the Public Domain
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The public domain consists in those expressions, written or otherwise, for which copyright protection has expired ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Lyons, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), creations that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">lack sufficient expression to be granted copyright protection <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Wilson, 2005, p. 9 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), materials produced by the U.S government ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Galin & Latchaw, 2010; Nenych, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), or works where the copyright owner failed to renew copyright during the right time frame ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Lyons, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Another possibility for expanding the public domain is for copyright owners to voluntarily relinquish their rights to a work ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Anand, 2012 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Works in the public domain are available for anyone to use without asking for permission or paying royalties ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Burgunder, 2011 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) and are considered public property. Over the past 40 years Congress has extended copyright terms eleven times. Until 2019, the expansion of the public domain “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">is essentially frozen in the year 1922 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">McDermott, 2012, p. 9 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">) because no works that are currently copyrighted will expire until then. It is estimated that of all the books in all of the libraries in the world, 83% are currently copyrighted and the rest are in the public domain; unfortunately, two-thirds of those in the public domain are no longer in print ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Kelly, 2006 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).* <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The concept of public domain extends the original purposes of the Founders in the U.S. constitution “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">to promote the progress of science and the useful arts <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Art. I § 8 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). By providing exclusive rights for a limited time it was expected that society would benefit by having access to current knowledge, creativity, and discoveries in the present, while sharing ownership in all creative expressions after a copyright expiration and the work entering the public domain. With the passing of the Copyright Term Extension Act (CTEA) and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) in 1998, knowledge has become a possession, the public domain is shrinking, and fair use is substantially limited ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Galin & Latchaw, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). With the proliferation of digital technologies, purchasers of works are no longer the owners of knowledge and wisdom, but merely renters, with no rights to make copies and chargeable as criminals if they seek to break encryptions.* Without the requirement to register for copyright, any expression, regardless of how remarkable or mundane is protected the moment it is expressed, and “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">virtually nothing new enters the public domain until its copyright term expires <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">McDermott, 2012, p. 9 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">).

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Copyright and Derivative Works
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">The original purpose of copyright was visualized by the Founders as a “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">bargain between the public and the author, whereby the public bribed the author to create new works in return for limited commercial control. . . . The public’s payoff was that, beyond the borders of the authors’ defined exclusive rights, it was entitled to enjoy, consume, learn from, and reuse the works <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Litman, 2001, p. 78 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The Act converted this bargain into a system of incentives and control with little concern for fairness or the expansion of public knowledge ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Galin & Latchaw, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). One of the major enforcers of this new philosophy is the extension of rights protecting derivative works in The Act. Before implementation of The Act, I could use the creative expression of another as my inspiration, and enlarge, extend, and broaden his or her ideas: In fact, this was the original intent of copyright. With passage of The Act, the extension or expansion of another’s expression could be deemed a derivative work and be an infringement on the original copyright. A derivative work is a “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">work based upon one or more preexisting (and copyrighted) works <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">“Exclusive Rights”, 17 U.S.C. § 101, 1976 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Huggins (2010) contended that “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">the public interest would be better served by further limiting copyright protections in derivative-work markets, [which would]. . . allow for more innovation, more participation, and more consumer options in the marketplace – all of which would benefit the public <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">p. 695 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">), and are in keeping with the original intent of copyright.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Online Considerations for Educational Institutions
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">As distance learning became more popular, differences developed between what constitutes fair use in the face-to-face classroom as opposed to the digital classroom. In a traditional classroom the concepts and practices of fair use were relatively easily applied. In the digital classroom, fair use presented a major legal dilemma for educational institutions, instructors, and students ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Dougherty, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). Many interested parties petitioned Congress for clarification regarding fair use online and the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2002 resulted ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Sun & Baez, 2008 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). The TEACH Act imposes a number of limitations and considerations that educational institutions, their information technology departments, and legal counsel must implement in order to present copyrighted material in an online classroom and have it be considered fair use. The TEACH Act only applies to accredited nonprofit educational institutions, and excessive limitations exist for the presentation of copyrighted materials online in the case of for-profit educational institutions ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Dougherty, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Outstanding content here]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Recommendations to Online Instructors Regarding Copyright
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Not only are educational institutions limited in what is considered fair use in online education, but the TEACH Act presents a number of limitations on instructors in the selection and transmission of copyrighted material ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">Lyons, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). These limitations include; (a) the amount of material borrowed must be comparable to what can be shared in a live, face-to-face classroom, (b) the material must be delivered under the direct oversight of the instructor, (c) be directly related to the topic in the course, (d) distributed only to enrolled students for the period of the course only, and (e) the instructor and students must demonstrate their compliance with all institutional copyright policies ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">TEACH, 17 U.S.C. § 110, 2002; Lyons, 2010 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). While the allowable works that can be shared online were expanded, certain works were specifically excluded under the TEACH Act, including works used “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">primarily for performance or display of mediated instructional activities transmitted via digital networks <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” and copies “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">not lawfully made and acquired <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">” ( <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 90%;">TEACH, 17 U.S.C. § 110, 2002 <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">). =<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Conclusion = <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">While the Copyright Act of 1976 provided extended and more specific protections of creative works than previous copyright Acts and formulated the factors of fair use, the overall effect of The Act and subsequent Acts was to morph the paradigm of copyright law from a balance of public good and author protection to one of greed and control. The original intent of the law has been transformed into a system for the control and sale of knowledge, enlightenment, and entertainment. A desire for the illumination and ennobling of society as a whole has been turned into the hawking of wares and cries of, “ <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">have you any money <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">”?* It seems a shame.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K1] Very true! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K2] Most definitely <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K3] Show me the money! <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">[K4] Perfect!


 * = References* ||
 * * Anand, A. S. (2012). “Less is more”: New property paradigm in the information age? //Duke Law & Technology Review, 11//(65), 65-144. Retrieved from http://scholarship.law.duke.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1230&context=dltr
 * Burgunder, L. B. (2011). //Legal aspects of managing technology// (5th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning.
 * Copyright registration in general, 17 U.S.C. § 408 (1976).
 * Copyrights, 17 U.S.C. (1976).
 * Crews, K. D. (n.d.). //Distance education and the TEACH Act//. Retrieved from American Library Association (ALA) website: http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=Distance_Education_and_the_TEACH_Act&Template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=25939
 * Dougherty, W. C. (2010). Managing technology: The copyright quagmire. //The Journal of Academic Librarianship//, //36,// 351-353. doi:10.1016/j.acalib.2010.05.020
 * Duration of copyright: Works created on or after January 1, 1978, 17 U.S.C. § 302 (1998).
 * Exclusive rights in copyrighted works, 17 U.S.C. § 106 (1976).
 * Galin, J R., & Latchaw, J. L. (2010). From incentive to stewardship: The shifting discourse of academic publishing. //Computers and Composition//, //27//, 211-224. doi:10.1016/j.compcom.2010.06.010
 * Huggins, C. M. (2010). The judge's order and the rising phoenix: The role public interests should play in limiting author copyrights in derivative-work markets. //Iowa Law Review, 95//(2), 695-722. Retreived from http://www.uiowa.edu/~ilr/
 * Kelly, K. (2006, May 14). Scan this book! //The New York Times Magazine.// Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/14/magazine/14publishing.html?_r=1&ex=1305259200en=c07443d368771bb8ei=5090&pagewanted=all
 * Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use, 17 U.S.C. § 107 (1976).
 * Litman, J. (2001). //Digital copyright//. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books.
 * Lyons, M. G. (2010). Open access is almost here: Navigating through copyright, fair use, and the TEACH Act. //Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing//, //41//(2), 57-64. doi:10.3928/00220124-20100126-03
 * McDermott, A. J. (2012). Copyright: Regulation out of line with our digital reality? //Information Technology & Libraries//, //31//(1), 7-20. doi:10.6017/ital. v31i1.1859
 * Nenych, L. A. (2011). Managing the legal risks of high-tech classrooms. //Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 4//(3), 1-7. Retrieved from http://journals.cluteonline.com/index.php/CIER/
 * Registration and civil infringement actions, 17 U.S.C. § 411 (1976).
 * Subject matter in copyright: In general, 17 U.S.C. § 102 (1976).
 * Sun, J. C., & Baez, B. (2009). //Intellectual property in the information age: Knowledge as commodity and its legal implications for higher education//. San Francisco, CA: Wiley/Jossey-Bass.
 * Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization, 17 U.S.C. § 110 (2002).
 * U.S. Constitution, article I § 8.
 * Waxer, B. M., & Baum, M. L. (2006). //Internet surf and turf revealed: The essential guide to copyright, fair use, and finding media//. Boston, MA: Thomson Course Technology.
 * Wilson, L. (2005). //Fair use, free use and use by permission: How to handle copyrights in all media//. New York, NY: Allworth Press. ||