Back in March, copyright was not top-of-mind for many individuals, as health and academic continuity took precedence. Lots of publishers waived copyright costs for usage of products in distance knowing, made teaching resources freely offered and aggregated useful content. A lot of material was used without approval of the copyright owners– some under legitimate “reasonable use,” some out of lack of understanding, and some opportunistically.

In the first four months of the pandemic, five significant patterns were observed in regards to licensing and reuse of copyrighted material:

The reality is, copyright is complicated and the enormous shift to distance learning has just compounded the concern for lots of teachers who just want to do what is.

Following is a comprehensive guide based upon the top concerns teachers have actually asked associated to copyright, public domain and reasonable use, and how they use to distance knowing. The descriptions below are planned to help educators much better handle copyright compliance for making use of published products in our brand-new paradigm.

Print photocopying greatly increased as trainees lost access to products in the classroom
Online knowing platforms and other edtech tools acquired traction
Publishers developed no-cost licenses to allow mentor under these new circumstance
More evaluations moved online
Teachers taught utilizing materials they copied or posted online, often under paid or complimentary licenses, often under reasonable use, and often by devoting violations that rightsholders were willing to overlook

During the summer, this triage of academic practices and policies decreased as teachers and students settled into the brand-new normal of extended remote and mixed learning. It is during this time that an increasing number of universities, schools, and districts began inquiring about best practices for copyright and licensing.

About the Author:

Back in March, copyright was not top-of-mind for numerous people, as health and educational continuity took precedence. Many publishers waived copyright fees for usage of products in distance learning, made mentor resources aggregated and freely readily available beneficial material. Plenty of content was used without consent of the copyright owners– some under legitimate “fair usage,” some out of lack of understanding, and some opportunistically.

Roy Kaufman is the Managing Director for Business Development and Government Relations at the Copyright Clearance.