How to stay legal

You would probably not go through the effort and expense to create and print a poster using images you did not have permission to use. You would end up with a poster that you could not freely display without fear of penalty. Like a poster, a successful Web site is highly visible. If you include copyrighted images on your course Web site without permission, you cannot display the site freely without compromising yourself and your institution. With all the effort that goes into creating a Web site, you should be able to show and use your site without restriction. That is why you should make every effort to stay legitimate and include only materials you have the rights to use.

Ask permission

Given the unsettled questions that remain regarding copyright, fair use, and the Internet, the best strategy when you find materials you would like to use on your course site is to obtain permission from the copyright holder. This task is not always straightforward, however. On the Web, for instance, it is often hard to determine who the site author is, and often you cannot be certain that the site author is the legal owner of the materials you wish to use.

If you know who the copyright holder is, write a letter requesting permission to use the materials. Arguments that can influence your chances of using the materials include limiting access to the materials to the students in your class and a promise to remove the materials at the conclusion of the term. If you are unable to determine ownership, and the materials are critical to your project, try hiring an agent to locate the copyright holder and negotiate usage. Otherwise, you are best off looking for other materials.

Hire an agent

Organizations such as the Copyright Clearance Center (CCC) will broker copyright transactions. To use CCC Online, you search their database for publisher's permission and fee information. If you locate materials you wish to use, you submit a permission request. Many of the titles in the database are "pre-authorized," which means if you're ready to pay the license fee, you can start using the materials immediately. For titles that need approval on a case-by-case basis, the CCC will contact the copyright holder and negotiate the transaction for you. There are several options to choose among, including the Electronic Course Content Service, which facilitates licensing for use in conjunction with online instruction.

Link to the materials

If the materials you wish to use are on the Internet, linking is a good way to offer Web-based content without violating copyright. Placing a simple link from your site to another site is not a copyright violation, so you do not need to seek permission from the site author.

Purchase rights

There are many online options for purchasing rights to use royalty-free or rights-controlled digital content. When you purchase royalty-free materials, you pay a one-time fee and can use them freely. Rights-controlled licensing usually places restrictions on how the materials can be used: for example, you may be able to license an image, but not for use on your course site home page, and only for a set time period.

Make it yourself

Take your own photographs, record your own narration, play and record your own musical content. Working with your own content is the very best method for staying legal: you have complete control over how you use the materials.

Take from the public domain

Work that is not protected by copyright is considered to be in the "public domain." Much of what is public domain got there because it is old and the copyright has expired. There are also times when an author chooses to make materials available without restriction, as is the case with "freeware" computer programs distributed free of charge. Most government documents (pamphlets, papers, books, data, images, films) are in the public domain.

Under most circumstances, when republishing copyrighted materials, you need to include a credit line with the materials. This both provides proper attribution for the materials and affirms that you are using the materials with permission. A credit line might read something like this:

Used with permission of The Chronicle for Higher Education, from "Lost in Cyberspace? A Librarian Offers an Online Course on Search Engines," Kelly McCollum, February 23, 2000

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