Copyright resources

This guide will help you learn about copyright, fair use, and other information-use concepts to consider before using, sharing, remixing, copying, or scanning copyrighted content. These principles apply to students and faculty.

• Use the Fair Use Checklist to decide if your use of copyrighted material is legal or not.
• Can you add Closed Captioning to videos? Can you use Netflix in your class?
• Learn about, and teach your students about, plagiarism.
• Find images with Creative Commons licenses. 
• Take a peek at how low-cost text (LCT) materials and Open Educational Resources (OER) can help lower out-of-pocket costs for students.

This guide is not intended to be legally binding nor are the CCC librarians copyright lawyers. The information shared in this guide is presented to the best of our knowledge.

As role models to and teachers of students, faculty members need to model good behavior regarding the ethical use of information. In addition, Clackamas Community College faculty members are required to abide by copyright law, whether sharing print or digital materials. As detailed in the Clackamas Community College Copyright Manual, faculty are prohibited from copying resources “not specifically allowed by the federal copyright law, fair use guidelines, license agreements or the copyright owner.”

The United States Copyright Office defines traditional copyright as "a form of protection provided by the laws of the United States (title 17, U.S. Code) to the authors of 'original works of authorship,' including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works. This protection is available to both published and unpublished works." ¹

 The goal of copyright law is to support innovation by compensating authors and publishers monetarily.  

1.  United States Copyright Office. (July 2008). Copyright basics. Retrieved 18 Oct. 2016 from http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.pdf