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May an instructor have a class perform parodies of popular songs?
Note: parody is more than altering lyrics.
-- Yes. An idea or theme is not protected by copyright.
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There is a performance in two weeks and the sheet music is not legible. May one copy be made for each student so they can learn the songs?
-- Yes. Replacement copies must be purchased as soon as possible.
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May the instructor make a copy of a portion of a record to give students a sampling of the composer's style?
-- Yes. The excerpts should not be a performable unit, such as a section, movement, or aria.
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Can the class use some popular music in their video production?
-- Yes. The production may not be shown outside the college.
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May the instructor audio tape several segments of a music CD to instruct or test the students?
-- No. This could be construed as creating an anthology.
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May an instructor copy worksheets for use by each student in the class?
-- No. Consumables may not be photocopied without permission.
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Must every copy made include the copyright notice?
-- Yes.
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May a program broadcast by the local cable system be videotaped for classroom use?
-- Yes. If it is a basic service, not pay per view.
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If another instructor wants to preview the program, may I make a copy for him/her?
-- Yes. He/she may keep it for 45 days.
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The library purchases a video that does not have public performance rights. May an instructor send a student who missed the showing to the library to view it?
-- No. If public performance rights were not purchased the video may be viewed only in the classroom or home.
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May a video rented from the local video store be shown in the classroom?
-- Yes. Home use only videos may be used as part of "face-to-face" teaching.
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The instructor will not be in class today, may a video be shown to entertain the students?
-- No. Videos must be part of the course syllabus.
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Does the copyright law distinguish between televising via closed circuit and using a video player in the classroom?
-- No.
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May the college access channel televise a student production so parents may view it at home?
-- Yes.
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A faculty member taped a mini-series, but wants to edit it down to two hours. May he/she?
-- Yes. Excerpts are permissible as long as the program is not altered from the original content or meaning.
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May the commercials be deleted from a broadcast television program?
-- Yes. Commercials are not part of the program.
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A faculty member is using PowerPoint to present her course content. May the commercial slides she uses be digitized?
-- No. Permission would have to be obtained from the copyright holder because this is changing the format.
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When can faculty digitize slides?
1) If the faculty member is the copyright owner;
2) if the slides are in the public domain;
3) if the copyright holder gives permission.
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A faculty member found a web page he liked. Can he copy it and save some design time?
-- No. Web pages are copyrighted.
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A faculty member's favorite recording artists are Ferranti and Teicher. May she put some of their music on her web page?
-- No. Music published since 1923 is copyrighted.
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An instructor teaches history. He wants to put a recent newspaper article about WWI on his web page. It is already in digital form. What should he do?
-- Write the copyright holder for permission, or provide a link from his web page to the resource.
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An instructor is developing a web-based course. She wants to provide assigned readings for the students. May she create a digitized file for the students?
-- Check with the Library to see if the readings are available in a subscription database and embed the URLs in the course.