RE: [Disarmed] Online class projects on commercial site - fair use or not? (UNCLASSIFIED)

Classification: UNCLASSIFIED
Caveats: NONE

1.)Linking may be using their bandwidth, but they're free to deny you access at any time and for any reason that they wish. Linking IMHO does not violate the distribution right because distribution is still under the control of the originator.

2.)On another prong, there seems to be a fair amount of agreement that in general, the web equivalent of in classroom, educational use is to limit access to people in the class. It's not so much whether the server that the professor puts classroom projects on is owned by the school, but whether he allows the public in general to access it.

Keep in mind that in the above, 1 is answering the question "Has any copying/distribution occurred?" and 2 Is a fallback, "Is the copying/distribution permitted." If the answer to 1 is no, than 2 is irrelevant.

-----Original Message-----
From: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property [mailto:CNI-COPYRIGHT[_at_]cni.org] On Behalf Of Wendy Christensen Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2007 7:10 PM To: CNI-COPYRIGHT -- Copyright & Intellectual Property Subject: [Disarmed] [CNI-(C)] Online class projects on commercial site - fair use or not?

For an online class, students have the option of doing a project. If desired, projects will be posted on the instructor's web site. This web site is a commercial site, as it exists as the home of the instructor's business of offering online classes. The posted project(s) would be for viewing only.

If a project includes a collection of images, collected from numerous sources (web sites, books, etc.) with student-written captions, would the use of those images for purposes of the project, be considered fair use, as in academic or educational fair use? Would posting the project, with the images, on the instructor's web site constitute infringement?

The instructor opined that if one links to the images in their original location, then it is NOT infringement, but if the images are actually copied onto her server, it IS. I disagree; I think linking to images on other sites is actually worse, as you are using their bandwidth for free as well as their image. The instructor does not think image use for these projects would qualify as fair use for educational purposes. I do.

Finally, if a student were to publish (via LuLu or Blurb, say), a private, limited-edition book of the project, including the images, would this be infringement?

Very Curious Purrrrrs...
wac

-- 

Wendy Christensen, The Cat Herder(tm)
Cultural Ailurologist, Writer, Illustrator, Photographer
h <http://www.outwittingcats.com> MailScanner has detected a possible
fraud attempt from "www.outwittingcats.com" claiming to be
ttp://www.outwittingcats.com <http://www.outwittingcats.com>
http://www.wendychristensen.com <http://www.wendychristensen.com> 

Got Cats? You need... "Outwitting Cats: Tips, Tricks and Techniques for
Persuading the Felines in your Life That What YOU Want is also what THEY
Want" (Lyons, 2004) 


Classification:  UNCLASSIFIED 
Caveats: NONE