Copyright is ingrained in daily campus life, and it is critical that all Stanford faculty, students and staff have a working understanding of copyright law and its impacts. To ensure that all members of the Stanford community have that critical knowledge, The Stanford University Libraries provide this Copyright Reminder, which highlights common campus copyright concerns, and outlines the fundamental elements of US copyright law that apply in those situations.
The reminder is distributed annually, but is always available on the libraries’ website. The 2013 edition has been dramatically redesigned, not only to align with the libraries’ new website, but also to bring in new content, including case studies that highlight common copyright issues on campus. We strongly encourage you to read through this document each year, to refresh your memory, and perhaps notice something that you missed in past years.
Key issues of the past year include:
- Dissertations are public disclosures for purposes of patent filings (see Highlights: Dissertations)
- An explosion of online courses, or Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) (see Highlights: MOOCs)
Copyright issues can be complex, and this document will certainly not answer every question. Members of the Stanford community who need further copyright information should feel free to contact Lauren Schoenthaler in the General Counsel’s office at lks@stanford.edu.
