Re: Online class projects on commercial site - fair use or not?

Simplest answer: you need to consult a lawyer on this. It is not amenable to solid advice on a general listserv.

Some of my ideas -- but really, these are contested areas all -- and can turn very much on the details. And I am in favor of a broad assertion of fair use. Conservative counsel might give you other answers -- to be more sure to keep you out of trouble. So there is that whole layer to keep in mind too.

1. Linking is not an infringement of any copyright at all -- not a reproduction, not a display, just a pointer. If you don't want someone to link to your site, don't put it up. That is part of the technology. And a link does not reproduce the item by the linker. And if someone were to contend that it is part of the copyright bundle of rights (i.e., the right to exclude linking), then fair use would support you.
2. Any reproduction (copy) is more likely to be infringement. But if the use is for an educational purpose, with limited effect on the original work, for a non-commercial purpose, it is probably fair use. The 4 factors are purpose and character of the use nature of the copyrighted work amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work (the one copied) as whole and effect of the use by the one copying on the market for or value of the copyrighted work.
3. The student publication of copies would be much more likely to infringe than something done for a course and posted online for a limited time and for a limited purpose. But, it could still be fair use.

See a copyright lawyer. Give all the facts. The copyright lawyer will know what to ask and what to look for.

Your general post just raises endless questions.

Steve Jamar

On Feb 15, 2007, at 7:10 PM, Wendy Christensen wrote:

> 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™
> Cultural Ailurologist, Writer, Illustrator, Photographer
> http://www.outwittingcats.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)
>

-- 
Prof. Steven D. Jamar                     vox:  202-806-8017
Howard University School of Law           fax:  202-806-8567
2900 Van Ness Street NW         mailto:stevenjamar[_at_]gmail.com
Washington, DC  20008	                http://iipsj.com/SDJ/

"Nothing that is worth anything can be achieved in a lifetime;  
therefore we must be saved by hope."

Reinhold Neibuhr