Policies, Procedures, and Copyright
Copyright Information
USC Copyright Policy
Copyright law can be complex. Nevertheless, members of the USC
community must respect the legal rights of copyright holders and comply with the law. It is not
possible to prepare a guide that addresses every potential use of copyrighted materials.
Therefore, if you are a member of the USC community and you still have questions about
copyright law after you review the materials referenced below, then contact George Lampl
in the Office of General Counsel at 803-777-7854.
The purpose of this page is to provide direction and access to informational materials to
University of South Carolina faculty, students, and staff members that accurately describe,
and promote compliance with, the laws of the United States relating to copyright. However,
this page does not establish a new University copyright policy.
The current USC Copyright Policy can be found at www.sc.edu/policies/acaf133.html.
Copyright Basics
What is copyright? How does a work become copyrighted? What can and what cannot be copyrighted? What are the exclusive
rights of the copyright holder? What is the public domain? For information about these and many other important
copyright issues, please visit the following sites:
An Overview of the Copyright Basics from Purdue University Copyright Office:
www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/basics/index.html
Copyright Tutorial from North Carolina State University Scholarly Communication Center:
www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/tutorial/
A Crash Course on Copyright from the University of Texas System Office of General Counsel:
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm#top
Copyright in the Classroom
What materials can be used in the traditional classroom or face-to-face instruction? What is "fair use?" How does one apply "fair use analysis?" etc.
An Overview of the Copyright Basics from Purdue University Copyright Office:
www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/instruction/classroom/index.html
Explanation of Fair Use from the University of Texas System Office of General Counsel:
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/copypol2.htm/
Fair Use Issues from Indiana University Copyright Management Center:
www.copyright.iupui.edu/fairuse.htm
Copyright in Distributed Learning
The TEACH Act which became law on November 2, 2002, expanded the scope of educator's rights to use copyrighted materials
in distance learning courses and courses with digital teaching components, but major restrictions and conditions apply.
Understanding what the new law permits and requires is crucial. In addition, the new law's restrictions make it necessary
for educators to continue to apply the "fair use" analysis accurately when creating and offering digitally delivered courses
or course components.
The TEACH Act Update from the University of Texas System Office of General Counsel includes a very useful checklist for determining
if the TEACH Act applies to your particular situation.
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/teachact.htm
The TEACH ACT Toolkit from North Carolina State University contains the TEACH Act text, glossary, guidelines, checklist, and
"best practices."
www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/legislative/teachkit/
An Overview of the TEACH Act Requirements from Purdue University Copyright Office:
www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/instruction/online/index.html
Distance Education, TEACH Act, and the Use of Copyrighted Works from Indiana University Copyright Management Center includes a link to the
new text of sections 110(2) of the U.S. Copyright Act and another good checklist.
www.copyright.iupui.edu/dist_learning.htm
The Technology, Education and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act. A summary of the TEACH Act stipulations prepared by Kenneth D.
Crews, Professor of Law and Director of Copyright Management Center at Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.
www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html
Obtaining Permissions to Use Copyrighted Works
When is it necessary to obtain permissions to use copyrighted works? How to obtain permissions? What organizations
can help in this process?
If you are teaching a distributed learning course at the University of South Carolina, DLSS instructional development
staff will assist you in obtaining proper permissions for your course. Please use the Staff Directory to contact your
instructional developer.
For helpful information on obtaining permissions, please visit the sites below:
An Overview of the Permissions Process from Purdue University Copyright Office includes a list of copyright management
organizations and recommendations on how to manage the process. www.lib.purdue.edu/uco/permissions/index.html
More information on obtaining permissions is included in the Crash Course on Copyright developed by Georgia Harper of the University of Texas System Office of General Counsel www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/permissn.htm
Sample Permissions Letter
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/permmm.htm
Additional Resources on Copyright
Copyright Office at the U.S. Library of Congress
lcweb.loc.gov/copyright/
Copyright Clearance Center
www.copyright.com
Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia
www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/ccmcguid.htm#1
CONFU: Conference on Fair Use
www.utsystem.edu/OGC/IntellectualProperty/confu.htm
Ball State University Copyright Home Page
www.bsu.edu/library/collections/copyright/
Copyright and Fair Use from Stanford University Libraries
fairuse.stanford.edu/
Scholarly Communication Center at North Carolina State University
www.lib.ncsu.edu/scc/
