This section looks at common campus situations where copyright issues may arise. If you don’t find a case study that matches your situation, feel free to contact Lauren Schoenthaler in the General Counsel’s office at lks@stanford.edu. 

Dissertations

Faculty need to be aware that the Office of Technology Licensing has determined that publication of a dissertation qualifies as a public disclosure for purposes of patent filings. This is true for both print and electronic dissertations, and is true even when a dissertation is embargoed so that access is limited to the Stanford community. It is critical that faculty and doctoral candidates work together well in advance of the candidate's dissertation filing to ensure that timing concerns regarding data publication are resolved. 

Students, similarly, need to be aware that their dissertation is a publication; they should work with their advisors to ensure that they manage embargos so as not to inappropriately republish material, or publish material that is intended for later publication.

More information on dissertation copyright issues are outlined in this presentation that all dissertation candidates are required to review.

Creating an online course reader in CourseWork

Loading reading material into CourseWork or any other course management system is legally equivalent to creating a printed course reader. Where the material is available electronically from a legitimate source (through a library database or the publisher’s website, for example), the most cost-effective approach is to provide a link to the material, rather than loading the file into the course management tool. Linking is not "copying," and thus does not require you to pay licensing fees.

Prior to digitizing copyrighted materials, faculty should review Stanford Libraries' electronic holdings to determine if a pre-existing license for the content exists. Stanford Libraries has secured licenses to tens of thousands of online works, and many others are publicly available (e.g., through Creative Commons licenses). Additionally, there are a number excellent digitization projects, such as Google Books, the Internet Archive, and HathiTrust that are making public domain content available online.

If you must load a copyrighted document into the system, you'll need to pay appropriate licensing fees for distribution of the material to your students. Stanford does not currently have an automated method to pay those fees (though SUL is investigating tools to make this possible), so you'll need to reach out to the Copyright Clearance Center or directly to the publisher to pay. 

This recent presentation to Stanford Law School staff covers a variety of issues related to creating online course readers.

Use of social media and web tools in teaching

Some courses can be enhanced by websites and collaboration tools. Preferably, these tools that such tools be hosted by Stanford to reduce concerns regarding content ownership, confidentiality of student information, and web security.

Third-party tools and websites may be appropriate if no comparable Stanford tool exists. But be aware that many service providers require users to sign up for an account and agree to terms of use in exchange for use of the services. Faculty should review terms of use and pay attention to:

• Content ownership concerns (e.g., are students required to give away or license their copyright interests in student-generated content?)
• Privacy concerns (e.g., can students control the distribution of their own content?)
• Content use for non-Stanford purposes (e.g., will the service provider keep a copy of the student-generated content for data-mining or other purposes?)

Faculty should notify students in the syllabus when third-party tools will be used in a course, and should also alert students to the terms of use. Faculty should work with students who are not comfortable agreeing to particular third-party terms--including, where possible, enabling a student to participate in the course without relying on the third-party tools. For more information, see this FAQ on Stanford's Secure Computing page.

Recording courses (faculty)

Before recording and broadcasting a Stanford course (for example, for inclusion in iTunesU), faculty must consider a number of issues, including intellectual property, privacy issues, and Stanford copyright and videotaping policies.  Certain classes may not be appropriate for public consumption. A few examples include classes which:

• Rely on substantial in-class use and display of third-party copyrighted content
• Involve discussion of identifiable patients or research subjects
• Require substantial participation by students who may be made uncomfortable by the idea that their thoughts will be broadcast to the world

Students must have advance notice that a course will be recorded and broadcast; an area of the room should be set aside for students who wish to remain off-camera. Faculty should also be available to answer student questions off-camera (e.g., during office hours). There are several groups with which faculty may work to determine whether to broadcast a particular course or lecture, including Stanford’s Vice-Provost for Online Learning, John Mitchell, and Lauren Schoenthaler in the legal office.

Faculty or staff interested in offering a public online course should register their interest at least two months in advance of a potential launch date. Normally, public courses will be launched once per quarter, subject to various considerations. Faculty developing online courses will be asked to sign a Course Development Agreement (CDA) and should allow enough lead time to work out copyright, accessibility, and other issues. Faculty creating Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) need to pay special attention to copyright concerns. Rights to post material on CourseWork may not apply in these larger systems. Similarly, face-to-face teaching exemptions do not apply.  The Office of General Counsel has put together Online Course Copyright & Privacy Guidelines.

Recording courses (students)

Students may not audio or video record lectures or classes without permission from the faculty leading the course (and guest speakers, when applicable). When permission is granted, students may keep recordings only for personal use and may not post recordings on the Internet or otherwise distribute them. Students who need lectures recorded for disability-related reasons should contact the Office of Accessible Education.

Classroom use of media

The Conference on Fair Use established the following guidelines for in-class presentations:

"Educators may incorporate portions of lawfully acquired copyrighted works when producing their own educational multimedia programs."

• No more than 10 percent or 3 minutes (whichever is less) of motion-based works;
• No more than 10 percent or 30 seconds (whichever is less) of a song or video;
• No more than 10 percent of a text; and
• Entire photographs or illustrations may be used, provided that no more than 10 percent or 15 images (whichever is less) comes from any one source.

For in-class presentations that will not be posted online publicly, these guidelines are recommendations and are not set in stone. But they do not apply to any presentation that is to be posted onto the Internet or sold commercially. Posting to the Internet even a single copyrighted image within a presentation, such as a political cartoon, may not be a fair use. For publicly displayed content, refer to the Stanford Online Course Guidelines.

Print reserves

The Stanford University Libraries limits the number of photocopies of copyrighted materials that can be placed on course reserves without permission from the copyright holder.  For specific information about reserve operations in campus libraries, contact the library where you intend to place the reserves. Note that filling course reserve requirements may take two to three months before the quarter begins, particularly if the library does not have a copy of the publication and copyright permission is needed.

Publishing

When publishing, faculty and students need to pay special attention to the rights they have in their publications and the rights they are signing over to a publisher. Granting agencies, notably the NIH, may have requirements about when and how publications related to grant-funded research must be made available, and these requirements may limit the publication agreements you can sign. Faculty need to be thoughtful about how they wish to reuse their research in classrooms and with colleagues, and ensure that, in working with publishers, they retain the rights they need to enable that collaboration.

The rise of the Open Access movement, which aims to make research available online--free of charge, and of most copyright and licensing restrictions--has resulted in authors of scholarly works having a much wider array of licensing options now than in the past. For some authors or publishers, the traditional approach of assigning copyright in an article or book to a publisher may be appropriate. Other options include:

• Granting the publisher a license to publish your work, while you retain copyright
• Publishing in open access journals
• Assigning copyright to a journal, with a license back from the journal to the author enabling the author to do one or more of the following:
  • Post on an institutional website in a PDF format
  • Make derivative works
  • Make copies for educational purposes
  • Allow others to make copies for educational purposes
  • Allow the same rights for Stanford or the originating institution

Stanford generally doesn't mandate a copyright position for its community members who publish articles or books, although the School of Education has an Open Access Initiative.

More detailed information on rights issues, and recommendations for working with publishers, can be found here: 

• The Author Rights Addendum
• Create Change

Special note regarding NIH-supported research

In 2008, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) implemented a Public Access Policy which requires that a digital copy of all research publications supported by NIH funding be submitted to PubMed Central, an online public repository, within 12 months of the original publication. The NIH website offers more information about this policy.

Peer-to-peer file sharing

Peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing allows individual Internet users to exchange files directly.  While the technology has many useful applications, unauthorized downloading and sharing of copyrighted works is problematic, and may result in harsh civil and criminal liabilities in addition to university sanctions. Fines of up to $150,000 in civil statutory damages may apply for each separate willful infringement, regardless of the actual damages involved.  Stanford may also take administrative action against copyright infringement, including loss of networking privileges and SUNet ID, or disciplinary action (up to, and including, termination for faculty and staff and expulsion for students).

Copyright owners can, and do, lawfully scan Internet traffic to identify instances where their material is being shared over P2P networks. When they discover a problem, they can send a complaint to Stanford under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or file a "John Doe" lawsuit against the IP address. In the latter case, Stanford would be legally required to provide the identity of the Stanford network user.

Copyright damages are usually statutory--that is, determined by statute.  The minimum damages amount for unintentional infringement is $200 per copyright violation (e.g., file sharing one song or one movie) and willful violations can result in penalties of up to $150,000 per violation (17 U.S.C. § 504). File-sharing can also result in criminal prosecutions and sentences of up to 10 years in prison (17 U.S.C. § 506; 18 U.S.C. § 2319). Every year since 2003, copyright owners have brought claims against individual Stanford students and staff members who have engaged in unlawful file-sharing.

Stanford's Policy on File-Sharing: Administrative Guide Memo 62 prohibits the unlawful copying or distribution of copyrighted materials.  Stanford follows up and responds to every copyright complaint.  Do not share your passwords.  You are responsible for what happens on your system.

Stanford's Copyright Complaint Policy for Students: Stanford has created a "Three Strikes" policy for dealing with unresolved file-sharing complaints. More information about Stanford’s student policy can be found at Stanford's Copyright Complaint Resolution Center website. Students may be referred to Judicial Affairs for unlawfully file-sharing; discipline can be imposed up to, and including, expulsion.

Stanford's Copyright Complaint Policy for Faculty and Staff: When staff receive a first or second complaint, the matter is referred to a supervisor and to HR. Discipline up to and including termination may be imposed. If a faculty member at Stanford receives more than one complaint, the matter is referred to a Department Chair.  Upon receipt of a third complaint, Stanford terminates Internet connectivity, including disabling the SUNet ID, and the matter is referred on for discipline: Faculty are referred to the Provost; staff are referred to HR and can expect to be terminated.

Technological deterrents: To combat unlawful file-sharing, Stanford uses Traffic Advisory Notices, which are sent to the top band-width users at Stanford on a rolling periodic basis. The Advisory provides information to the recipient about unlawful file-sharing and the consequences of unlawful file-sharing.

Free and legal entertainment on the Internet: There are multiple options to access free and legal music, TV shows, and movies. The MPAA has an entire page listing many legal resources to access television and movies from your computer, including a listing to all major networks (which often post shows a day after original airing). 

In particular, we recommend:

• Hulu: provides access to recent TV shows and movies on a model supported by limited advertising
• Pandora Free Internet Radio: provides targeted music selections based on artist or song preferences of the individual listener