Copyright Questions About Electronic Posting

There are many questions regardling posting electronic materials for students and the laws of copyright which govern the distribution of electronic materials for a class or academic program.  The list below is comprised of just a few common questions and answers that have come up regarding this issue.  If you have others that you think faculty would find helpful, or need further clarification regarding these questions, please contact Academic Computing via the link at the bottom of this page with your suggestion.

Q: Who is responsible for securing copyright permission for materials I am using for my course?

A: Evergreen State College faculty members are ultimately responsible for securing permission from the copyright holder in order to place copyrighted course materials on library reserve or uploading copies electronically to their Moodle site. Maryam Jacobs, the college's internal auditor (extension 6112) will request copyright permission from the copyright holder for any faculty member who requests this service.

Q. Can someone assist me with scanning readings and checking against fair use guidelines so I can make them available electronically to my students?

A. Although the actual posting of materials electronically for a class is the responsibility of the faculty member, the Library and Academic Computing staff are happy to assist. Electronic copies become your property and the college assumes that the copy will be used exclusively for teaching, private study, scholarship, or research. Please contact Barry Woslum at the Library Circulation Desk (extension 6580) for more information on services related to scanning materials and checking for compliance with copyright law. Please contact your liaison in Academic Computing for information and instructions in setting up a Moodle site for your program.

Q: Can I get permission from a copyright holder by e-mail or phone?

A: Yes, just make sure that you keep a file of e-mail communications or the final confirmation letter you receive after acquiring permission on the phone.

Q: What are general guidelines for uploading materials in a course management system such as Moodle?

A: Course management systems such as Moodle must provide access to materials within the context and limits of copyright law. Acceptable materials include:

• Materials owned or obtained lawfully by a faculty member, Evergreen Library or another unit of the institution.
• Materials for which copyright permission has been obtained.
• Portions of materials that comply with the guidelines for Fair Use for educational purposes.
• Materials that would not be available for students to purchase, e.g. out of print materials; however, it is recommended that you try to obtain permission to use the material.
• Articles available full-text in databases to which Evergreen Library subscribes, or available on open access Web sites.

All materials posted on Moodle should include a citation to the original source of publication and a form of copyright notice, if possible. Faculty members need to advise students that course materials are made available for the exclusive use of students enrolled in that particular course, and they may not distribute copies to students who are not enrolled in that class.

See Using Course Management Systems: Guidelines and Best Practices for Copyright Compliance for more information.

Q: Can I link to other Web pages? How about deep linking?

A: Linking to other Web pages from Moodle or your own Web site generally does not raise any copyright questions. Deep linking can be a problem if you bypass information or advertisements that the Web site owner wants visitors to see before accessing additional information. Ask for permission from the creator of the Web site before deep linking.

Q: Can I upload course readings to my personal Web sites

A: Evergreen encourages you to use your Moodle site to make electronic copies available to students. If you are interested in posting copyright-protected material on your own web page, you will need to secure adequate copyright permission for the length of time you want to have such materials available on your page.  Know that your personal web page is publicly viewable (and may be indexed by all the major search engines like Google and Yahoo).  This must be taken into account when asking for copyright permision from the holder if you intend to post publically.  If you've been provided with copyright permission to post publically, please provide a copy of that permission to the college's copyright officer for their records.