USU Family Medicine

Faculty Development Funding Resources- Copyright Information

The following information is provided by Richard Conran, MD,PhD, JD in response to questions posed at the recent Faculty Development session ,"Copyright in Academic Medicine."

"During the presentation I gave you my interpretation and perspective regarding the following copyright issues you raised:"

1. When lecturing, do I need to obtain permission to include graphs or tables? Is merely crediting the reference sufficient?
2. If my lecture is to be distributed via Blackboard or paper within the USUHS/NCC system only, does this change the permission requirement?
3. What if my lecture is distributed DoD wide?
4. Use of images (photos, charts, etc.) from textbooks in PowerPoint presentations and handouts; posting on a website that is (a) open or (b) password-protected for particular students only
5. Distribution (paper, electronic) of copies of journal articles, textbook chapters, etc., to students in a particular class; to an e-mail list of current and former students; posting on a website that is (a) open or (b) password-protected for particular students only
6. Copyright issues with Textbooks.
7. Sometimes we find figures in the internet that are useful to illustrate our scientific presentations or teaching materials. What is the general regulation on using these materials?
8. I would like to know what the restrictions are on making copyrighted material used in lectures available to the students on a website or blog.
9. Are there copyright laws or protections for faculty investigator regarding research protocols and proposals that are submitted for funding?

Several items for your consideration:

Most litigation in the academic setting involves course packs (paper or electronic). Two points I want to emphasize when you're considering using copyrighted material is first, USUHS does not meet the requirements of the TEACH ACT; therefore, the protections provided by that statute are not available. Second, when you use copyrighted material you must either have permission from the copyright holder, permission via a licensing agreement or meet the statute's criteria for fair use. The technology used in disseminating copyrighted material is not the critical issue. The critical issue you need to ask is whether your use meets the fair use requirements. Fair use is a difficult concept to define. Many courts struggle with this analysis.

As promised I have provided the following links that outline the copyright policy for several institutions. The University of Texas website is respected by many academicians interested in copyright policy. I personally like the University of Georgia site, excellent examples and analysis. The Indiana site has some good lists for determining fair use and the Stanford site is also an excellent resource.

http://www.utsystem.edu/ogc/intellectualproperty/cprtindx.htm#top

http://www.usg.edu/legal/copyright/#end

http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/

http://fairuse.stanford.edu/

USUHS Instruction 5536 (http://www.usuhs.mil/usuhs_only/asd/5536.pdf) and the Faculty Handbook (http://www.usuhs.mil/handbook/copyright.html) have USUHS-specific information on copyrights. While I can certainly assist informally with copyright questions, as can the LRC staff, *definitive guidance* should be *obtained from the Office of General Counsel (295-3028 - Room A1030)*. Thanks again for your questions during the seminar, even the one on the DaVinci code that I could not answer!

Richard Conran, MD,PhD,JD