Copyright Laws in Education

Videos + Digital Images

Learning Objectives
Participants will:
• Understand the Copyright laws for using Figure 1.
videos and digital images in the classroom
• Identify Fair Use Policies
• Explore safe platforms for searching for
videos and digital images
Copyright Laws Basics

(Common Sense Media, 2014)

 Fair Use
In education, Fair Use allows the “unlicensed” use of copyrighted
works in certain circumstances, under certain conditions. Consider
the following:
1. Is the purpose transformative?
2. Will you contribute to the loss of income by using this
video/digital image?
3. Is it creative work or is it factual? (It’s better to use factual
information, as it is harder to prove fair use with creative work.)
4. How much of the media are you using? (Green & Brown, 2018)
(Kimmons, 2016)
Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers
Video for Viewings
• Teachers may incorporate videos
in the classroom for face-to-face
instruction.
• Videos cannot be shown for
entertainment or reward.
• Videos must be obtained legally
• Teachers may copy the video if
the original copy was lost,
damaged, or stolen.
Digital Images
• Teachers may download images
for lessons
• Website of the downloaded
image must have obtained the
image legally
• Images cannot be reposted
online without attribution
(Technology and Learning, n.d.)
Safe Alternatives
Creative Commons Public Domains

Creative Commons Licenses allow Public Domains house media and

teachers to upload and use media video that are not protected under
that was intended to be copied, copyright laws. Change your settings
distributed, edited, and remixed in Google to find images and videos
outside of the copyright law. in the Public Domain.

For more information visit

creativecommons.org (Stim, 2017)
Searching with Google
 Application
Ms. James is excited about the new release of Avengers: Infinity Wars
because she can link it to the objectives in her AP Human Geography
class. Ms. James creates a lesson centered around tying the movie to the
learning objectives and finds a copy of it on YouTube. Can Ms. James
legally show the movie in class?

NO! The website where Susan

obtained the video must have
obtained the video legally.
 Application
Mr. Akuoko is searching for an image online to make his created
worksheet stand out. His hopes is to sell the worksheet on Teachers Pay
Teachers. Mr. Akuoko is able to find the image. He copies and pastes it on
to his worksheet without giving credit to its source or checking to see the
type of license attached to the image. How can Mr. Akuoko make sure he
is abiding by the Fair Use laws?

Mr. Akuoko should make sure the image is submitted

to the Public Domain or search for the image on
Creative Commons. He should check to make sure the
image can be used for commercial use. He should also
include the attribution of the source.
 Application
Mrs. Hernandez brings in a purchased copy of a film to show to class. The
class is unable to finish the film, so she uploads a copy to the class’
website for the students to view at home. Is Mrs. Hernandez aligned to
the US Copyright laws?

No! Mrs. Hernandez is violating the US Copyright

laws by making the purchased copy of the film
accessible to the public. This would contribute to
the loss of income for the filmmakers. Mrs.
Hernandez would need to finish showing it in
class the next day or afterschool during tutorial.
 References
[Common Sense Media]. (2014, September 5). Copyright and Fair Use Animation [Video
File]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/suMza6Q8J08
Figure 1. Wikimedia Commons. (2004, July 14). Copyright Symbol [Digital image]. Retrieved
from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Copyright_symbol.png
Green, T. D., & Brown, A. H. (2018). The Educator's Guide to Producing New Media and
Open Educational Resources. New York, NY: Routledge.
Kimmons, R. [BYU Independent Study]. (2016, May 16). Copyright Basics for Teachers
[Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-9H6Ksp36q0
Stim, R. (2017, April 11). Welcome to the Public Domain. Retrieved from
https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/public-domain/welcome/
Technology and Learning. (n.d.). Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers [Poster].
Author. Retrieved from https://www.xavier.edu/library/about/documents/Copyright_9-23-
08.pdf