California State University Fullerton
Copyright Statement
As the legal and ethical distribution of intellectual property is a fundamental component of education, all members of the Cal State Fullerton academic community are expected to respect copyright law and to model responsible behavior when distributing materials to students.
Copyright, under Title 17 of the U.S. Code, begins the moment a work is fixed in a transferrable medium and thereby provides incentive for creation and innovation. To qualify for copyright protection, a work must have a human author. Works authored by artificial intelligence cannot be protected by copyright. CSUF faculty members retain copyright for their research and the course materials they create. To enjoy the privilege of copyright, it is necessary to respect the copyright of other authors.
When using a course management system, individual faculty members are responsible for determining the legality of distributing materials protected by copyright. The legal requirements for sharing materials in different formats can vary and distributing media such as films or music can create unique circumstances that require individual evaluation and flexible solutions.
Copyright has a time limit after which the information is free to be transformed and distributed in any way necessary. This temporal limit is known as the public domain and is generally applicable to anything published before 1929. U.S. Federal publications are also in the public domain.
Many online materials are available through a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons enables authors to allow public use of their works, with attribution, in different ways.
As often as possible, materials should be distributed by linking to the Pollak Library databases. The Pollak Library dedicates a considerable amount of its budget to license articles and e-books for the use of the campus community. Linking allows the library to track usage of these materials; subscriptions that do not receive a significant amount of use are subject to cancellation.
Often when considering whether it is lawful to distribute materials, a fair use analysis is necessary. Fair use (Section 107 of the US Code) is an exception to copyright that allows for sharing copyrighted materials without the copyright holder’s permission. Each use of the work requires a specific assessment. Using a fair use checklist can often help make the decision easier.
Whenever a claim of fair use is made, materials must be clearly attributed with a copyright notice. In addition to proper attribution, these works must be accessible only to enrolled students behind a password protected site and only for a limited time.
When needed, permission can always be sought by contacting the copyright holder directly or through the Copyright Clearance Center. Faculty may also place materials in a coursepack through the Titan Shops Bookstore “Direct Access Program.” All articles distributed through the Direct Access Program are cleared for copyright before distribution. Please ensure that these works are not available in the Pollak Library’s electronic databases before placing them in a coursepack.
If you have any questions, please contact Anthony Davis Jr., Copyright & Policy Librarian.