The issue of violating copyright laws has become a very controversial problem not just in media but also in academic and professional institutions as well. In schools, for example, teachers would often provide their students with thought provoking or insightful articles, or show them helpful photos or allow them to listen to certain kinds of songs to help illustrate a particular lesson. But now, teachers are very hesitant to do this because they fear that they might violate copyright laws. Here are some guidelines on copyright laws in the classroom — just one of the recipes for life you will find in o5.com.
Using and distributing copyrighted items within the confines of the classroom is indeed a punishable offense based on copyright laws. While care must be taken when using various articles, photos or music, there are also some items that can be used for discussions.
Printed Materials
Copyright law states that poems that consist of up to 250 words can be discussed in the classroom. A poem that is more than 250 words can still be discussed on the condition that only an excerpt of the poem not exceeding 250 words is discussed.
With regards to works of fiction, essays, and articles, if it is not more than 2,500 words then it is okay to be discussed. If the work is longer than 2,500 words, then it can still be discussed provided that only an excerpt of within the range of 500 to 1,000 words is used.
In terms of pictures, graphs, diagrams, or charts, the classroom can discuss one for every book or periodical issue. As for illustrated works, the allowable limit is two pages or not exceeding 2,500 words.
Video
There are certain copyrighted video materials that can be employed in the classroom in its entire length provided the source material was acquired legally. Additionally, it should be used for actual, physical discussion for strictly instructional purposes. It should not be used as a reward or as a way of gaining profit.
For other video materials, only 10 percent of the entire content can be used. This translates to just about three minutes of video. Credits should also be included in the copyrighted work.
Music
For musical works, only ten percent of the total music composition can be used for educational purposes. But there are some copyright holders who only allow 30 seconds of the total composition to be used in the classroom.
Television programs
There are some TV networks that allow off-the-air viewings of their programs for classroom discussion purposes. These programs can be acquired from the networks themselves. There are networks that institute a retention policy of about ten school days but there are those who are more lenient and will allow the school to keep the program for up to three years.
Photo from education-portal.com
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