Copyright - Good Habits

Educators, students, and administrators need to know the essentials of Copyright Law and Fair Use principles. Why is it so important?

• It is to everyone's advantage to stay legal and to feel comfortable with the use of copyrighted materials. Knowing copyright essentials and applying copyright and Fair Use principles correctly can prevent a very costly incident ($$$$)! With penalties for copyright infringement including actual damages, statutory damages of $100,000 per infringement, and the awarding of legal fees (often the most costly component) to the plaintiff, it is imperative that administrators, educators, and students are well informed.
• It is equally important that we take advantage of copyright exemptions and Fair Use to make the best and fullest use of the copyrighted works of others to enhance our teaching.
• Educational institutions must ensure that its faculty, students, and administrators are knowledgeable about copyright in order to make proper use of the exemptions.

The truth is: Copyright Law and Fair Use doctrines can be very confusing and often require attentiveness and astute evaluation of a particular setting to determine the correct course of action.

UAMS Policy, Guidelines and Assistance 1. Luckily, UAMS already has an UAMS Institutional Policy on Use of Copyright Materials (Administrative Guide 12.0.2). 2. Better yet, College of Medicine has the Guidelines for Use of Copyrighted Materials in Education that was specifically written to help College of Medicine educators both teach within the legal confines of copyright and make the best usage of all resources available to them. The other colleges at UAMS have accepted the College of Medicine guidelines as appropriate for their colleges as well. You can find the institutional policy and the COM guidelines on the Library website along with the complete copies of several acts statutes that have been passed since the Copyright Act of 1976.  3. The UAMS Library provides assistance with copyright questions. A lawyer has been designated by the UA System to answer the more difficult copyright questions in conjunction with the librarian.

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