Page 147 - DLIS006_INFORMATION SOURCES AND SERVICES

Information Sources and Services

Notes 7.4.1 Legal Aspects of Copying

Although modern technology provides the capability to produce seemingly unlimited copies of
photographs, drawings, musical scores, and other documents, such reproduction must be within
the law. Obviously, reproducing currency (counterfeiting) is illegal. Documents illegal to
reproduce in all states include drivers’ licenses; amateur radio operators1 licenses; classified
government documents, maps, photographs, drawings, and publications; draft registration cards;
badges, identification cards, passes, or insignia carried by members of federal departments and
bureaus; automobile registrations; passports, citizenship, and naturalization papers; and U.S.
government securities. Reproduction of obscene or morally offensive material in written or
graphic form is limited by both local laws and ethical judgment. Reproducing copyrighted
material without permission may also be illegal.

Copyrighted Materials

The Copyright Law of 1976, the first revision of the U.S. copyright statute since 1909, specifies
what constitutes copyrighted material and provides guidelines for reproducing such material.
According to the law, copyrighted materials are “original works of authorship fixed in any
tangible medium of expression” and thus include literary works; musical works; dramatic and
choreographic works; pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works; audio-visual works {such as
motion pictures); and sound recordings. Works are copyrighted from the moment of creation,
whether published or unpublished. Works prepared for an employer are copyrighted by the
employer unless otherwise agreed upon. For example, if an employee writes a manuscript
while assigned to a job paid for by the employer, the writer’s employer normally holds the
copyright to the manuscript. However, the employer could agree to assign the copyright to the
employee. Published materials should show copyright information in the form of a copyright
symbol ©, the year of the first publication of the work, and the name of the owner of the
copyright. This information generally appears immediately after the title page in a book, but it
could appear in other places, depending on the type of document.

Copyright Permission and “Fair Use” Guidelines

People can obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material by writing to the owner of (he
copyright, requesting use of the material and stating the reasons for wishing to use it. In some
cases, a fee will be charged to use the material. This clause specifies that, in certain circumstances,
the reproduction of copyrighted material is not “an infringement of copyright.” These special
circumstances require that reproduction be “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research. . .
.”Questions you should ask to determine fair use include:
1. Is the purpose of reproduction commercial or non-profit?
2. What is the nature of the copyrighted work? (That is, while copying two or three paragraphs
from scholarly article would be permissible; you might need permission to copy a poem
or to copy the music and lyrics of a published song.)
3. How much of the material is to be reproduced?
4. What effect will copying have on the market for the copyrighted work?
5 How often me need to copy the material? Is it systematic (regular, planned copying)?

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