Copyright & Fair Use

Friday, February 19th 

Linda K. Enghagen, J.D.

Professor, University of Massachusetts at Amherst Isenberg School of Management

Session Information*

*The following sessions are co-sponsored by the Information Technology Division, TTU Worldwide eLearning and the Teaching, Learning, and Professional Development Center. 

To watch a recording of or to access handouts from the Copyright & Fair Use sessions, please visit the following links

Copyright & Fair Use Video

Copyright & Fair Use Handout

The Truth about Copyright & Fair Use: Myths and Misconceptions Meet Reality

In "The Truth about Copyright and Fair Use," ten of the most common myths and misconceptions will be explored. Is it possible to copyright an idea? If a use is educational, it is also a fair use – right? As long as I include a citation, I'm protected. If I do commit an infringement, the university will get sued – not me. If it's free, it is in the public domain. Learn the truth about these and other copyright and fair use issues and questions.

Copyright Compliance Made Simple: Six Rules for Course Design

The day has passed when the most pressing legal issue confronting educators and their use of technology involves the departmental copy machine. New software applications and learning management systems are routine to many faculty members and expected by many students; but the widespread use of information and computer technologies significantly increases the opportunities for copyright infringement. Legal literacy in the information age is quickly becoming a professional necessity. And it's become more complicated. Many educators never fully understood the old law. For example, fair use never afforded the degree of protection many educators assumed (just because a use is educational doesn't mean its fair). In an attempt to bring the law up to speed with new and emerging technologies, Congress brought us new laws. Enter the Digital Millennium Copyright and TEACH Acts. Each clarifies some things and confuses others. Copyright Compliance Made Simple begins with the basic framework of the current state of the law and then offers practical strategies designed to bring a measure of certainty to the process of developing courses that are copyright compliant by identifying Six Rules for Course Design.

About Professor Enghagen

Professor Enghagen's early involvement in distance education led to her work related to legal literacy in the issues of the information age. In particular, this led to her interest in copyright law as it relates to educational settings. She serves as a Copyright Law Research Specialist for the Online Learning Consortium and regularly offers online workshops for them in relation to copyright compliance in educational settings. Her scholarly contributions related to intellectual property are directed to the needs of faculty members including two books, Technology and Higher Education: Approaching the 21st Century and Fair Use Guidelines for Educators, as well as numerous articles such as Plagiarism: Intellectual Dishonesty, Violation of Law or Both?, Fair Use in an Electronic World and Copyright Law and Fair Use—Why Ignorance Isn't Bliss She has created pamphlets and brochures about copyright law such as Copyright Compliance Made Simple: Six Rules for Course Design, Educators, Technology and the Law: Common Questions/Direct Answers and Legal Literacy in the Information Age: Ten (easy to understand) Rules of Thumb In addition, she has been a guest commentator on a local NPR affiliate where she discussed copyright piracy in a piece entitled Napster Worries Me.

In addition to regularly delivering conference presentations related to copyright issues, Professor Enghagen is a frequent speaker at workshops, seminars and symposia on copyright law in higher education.