Guidelines for Ed Web Developers by George Teston

Guidelines for Educational Wed Development

by George Teston | originally at http://people.fas.harvard.edu/~gteston

The Internet and the process of web development for educational purposes make the issue somewhat more complex. Students and academicians frequently create web projects in which original material is synthesized with copyrighted media such as video, music, and graphics. Multimedia and web pages, though published for a specific non-profit educational purpose and audience, have a global reach once published to the web. At this point, the control of the work is lost and the potential for a domino effect begins, for someone to make a copy of the copy of the copy. The Internet is not the Public Domain; much of its content is copyrighted. As such, it is prudent for students and educators to follow a few guidelines to safely remain within the scope of "Fair Use."

  • Students may incorporate portions of copyrighted materials for course assignments
  • Likewise, faculty may incorporate portions of copyrighted works within their own web projects developed to support instructional endeavors
  • Even when used in portions, copyrighted video, music, and photographs is not likely to be considered fair use if the duration of use is long term; in excess of two years. (University of Maryland)
  • Whenever feasible, it is simply best to seek the permission from the owner.

The Concept of Sampling The amount of work reproduced is an important factor is the standards for Fair Use. When the other 3 standards of Section 107 are met, portions (sometimes called sampling) is permissible. But how much is considered reasonable for "sampling" and when does excess constitute an infriengement? The University of Maryland offers the following guidelines as reasonale portions under Fair Use.

Additional Links: Google Copyright Blog | Title 17 U.S. Code | Copyright Tips for Teachers

Sampling Guidelines:
  • Text: up to 10% of the work or 1000 words, whichever is less
  • Photos and Graphics: no more than 5 from the same artist and no more than 15 from a collection
  • Music: up to 10% of the work or up to 30 seconds, whichever is less
  • Video: up to 10% of the work or 3 minutes, whichever is less
  • Numeric Data: up to 10% or 2,500 database/spreadsheet fields,
    whichever is less
  • Multimedia Projects: no more than 2 copies
TOPIC LINKS: Fundamentals of Copyright >> The Fair Use Doctrine >> Web Development Guidelines

Sources:
University of Maryland. (2006). "Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web"
Image by Don Cuptop, http://flickr.com/people/elcupto/
Image by Sharon, http://flickr.com/people/deletia/
Image by Jeff Barnes, http://flickr.com/people/jeff-barnes/