F10 -Copyright and Fair Use in the Digital Era

Dr. Peter Anderson, University of Alabama at Birmingham 

Questions and concerns related to copyright and fair use plague faculty in their efforts to develop innovative educational materials.  Copyright issues become even more rigorous when digitized materials are uploaded to websites and made globally accessible, whereby the content may be downloaded, altered, and further transmitted by others anywhere in the world.  Thus, in this focus session we will review some of the basic tenants of copyright and fair use and outline specific issues related to Web-based instruction.  By using examples of every day situations facing academics we will explore the nuances of copyright law.  In addition we will discus author’s rights and suggest things faculty should do to protect their ownership rights.