Multimedia production stations - Copyright and fair use guidelines

Most "original works of authorship," including literary, dramatic, musical, and artistic works, are copyrighted, regardless of the format in which they are stored and disseminated. Formats can include:

text and images printed on paper
microformats (film, fiche, opaque cards)
audiovisual media such as cassettes, CDs, and DVDs
online media such as computer files and web pages

A work may be copyrighted even if it does not explicitly state that it is copyrighted. Consequently, it is wise to assume that materials such as documents, images, webpages, and audio and video clips are copyrighted.

In 1996, a Congressional subcommittee on intellectual property published a report called Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia. While these are not law, they have become commonly accepted standards adopted by many schools and libraries. The guidelines cover multimedia "products" created by students and/or faculty as part of the educational enterprise. The fair use of multimedia (i.e., use without explicit permission from a copyright holder) is limited by time, portion, copying, and distribution. A concise "Summary Index to Usable Portions of Copyrighted Works" in multimedia has been developed by the Consortium of College & University Media Centers (CCUMC).

For more information, users may wish to consult the innovative Crash Course in Copyright developed by the University of Texas at Austin.

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Multimedia production stations - Copyright and fair use guidelines