Critical questions that must generally be answered for any inquiry on the use of content in an educational setting are: is the material copyrighted versus public domain content? Is the display of the material subject to an express exemption to the Copyright Act because the content will be displayed in a face-to-face class setting or used in a online Blackboard type environment? How much of the subject content do you need to use? (small portion versus its entirety). Your inquiry needs to distinguish between the DISPLAY of material and COPYING/ REPRODUCING the content. These are distinctly different activities, and their treatment under Title 17 of the U.S. Copyright Act in the context of face-to-face teaching in particular results in very different analysis for the use of content.
Under the Copyright Act, there is an express exemption in §110(1) that permits you to display any copyrighted content, without permissions of any kind, provided you are in a regularly constituted course, attendant to a face to face classroom setting, and that material is directly related to the course content. Conversely, making multiple copies of copyrighted content for each student in the class is distinctly different, and would require a fair use analysis rather than relying upon an express exemption from the Copyright Act.
If you wish to use copyrighted content for display in your Blackboard course, you can utilize the following URL [ http://www.uncw.edu/generalcounsel/LTCopyrightBlackboard.htm ] and review the checklist to determine whether your use of the subject content satisfies the requisites of the TEACH Act, permitting the limited use of copyrighted material in a web-enhanced (e.g. Blackboard) course environment.
If you have any questions regarding the use or display of copyrighted material attendant to your research, teaching, or scholarship, please contact the Office of General Counsel, Robert Hoon at 2-7886 or hoonr@uncw.edu
