Podcasting and Copyright FAQ
Faculty interested in putting original media online for broadcast need to begin with a couple questions about copyright and fair use. The following guide does not represent legal counsel but should offer one attempt to understand the ever-changing landscape of intellectual property. The Adams Center recommends listing original content under a Creative Commons license that clearly describes the terms of use for your content.
- What types of music, images, or video can I use to produce my podcast? Attempts to summarize copyright law and its relation to podcasting usually run dozens of pages (see the
Creative Commons Legal Guide for an excellent start). The short answer to this important question depends on where you plan to host your media.
If you plan on sharing a podcast that includes copyrighted source material BEHIND a login like
MyACU, then you're probably covered by the TEACH Act's provisions for distance learning. The act allows teachers to share any media they would otherwise play in the classroom with students online, as long as a reasonable effort has been made to limit the audience to enrolled students, by posting to a class folder, Blackboard, or your private iTunes U course.
For other podcasts you plan on uploading to a class blog the public side of iTunes U, for example, the answer becomes more complicated. The CC Legal Guide describes "fair use" as "copying any protected material (texts, sounds, images, etc.) for a limited and 'transformative' purpose, like criticizing, commenting, parodying, news reporting, teaching the copyrighted work.” This means that copyrighted content can often be used within your public podcast as long as the use is transformative in nature, not used for the work's original intent. Though care should be taken, fair use is typically in play when faculty or student journalists are analyzing or interpreting a copyrighted work, for example.
iTunes U Class
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Campus-wide
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Fully Online
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Anyone in class, like Blackboard
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Anyone with myACU login
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Anyone on Internet
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Connect via myACU link
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Connect via http://www.acu.edu/itunes |
Enter through iTunes Music Store
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Fair Use and its relation to copyright is a complex issue. In addition to considering the nature of the use, the law requires a consideration of whether the original work is creative in nature, what amount of the work has been used and the potential impact of the use on the market for the original work. For a more detailed discussion of the factors considered in fair use, see section 3.2.9 of the
CC Legal Guide.
An alternative solution is to begin with "podsafe" content (see
CC Search and
Content Directories).
- What is podsafe content?Podsafe music, photography, and video are media whose original author has uploaded them to a public domain or stock site (like
Stock.XCHG stock photography) or assigned a license indicating the terms of use. Creative Commons offers a range of licenses for media creators to choose from, allowing free non-commercial use with attribution for example. Because CC licenses are clearly identified with the work itself, users of the content are clear on approved uses of each file. Attribution in this case could take place on the slide itself or in a media credit at the end. For a more detailed description of podsafe content, see the CC Legal Guide, section 6.6, “
Finding Podsafe Content.”
- How do I cite images I found through Google Image Search?
Unless you have permission or the purpose of the use is transformative (“like criticizing, commenting, parodying, news reporting, teaching the copyrighted work”), including someone else’s original work may not honor their intellectual property, and no citation will remedy that. For help understanding when permissions are needed, see the CC Legal Guide, section 3.2, “
5 Instances Where Permission Is Not Required.”
- But really, how much of my favorite song can I use?
Unless you have permission, or the purpose of the use is transformative (“like criticizing, commenting, parodying, news reporting, teaching the copyrighted work”), including any copyrighted material in a public podcast could raise trouble. Until copyright law catches up to more dynamic uses of Web 2.0 culture, the university’s policy for educational podcasting will attempt to chart a responsible middle course. For transformative use, no firm percentage of a work has been established. U.S. law simply weighs the amount of the borrower’s use in relation to the whole when considering what’s fair use.
- Do I need permissions to upload student work?
Signed Podcast Release Forms will need to be collected for all students interviewed for public podcasts appearing on the public iTunes U site. Signatures also need to be kept on file for all students reading original work or producing original podcasts that appear on the public site. Download the following permissions
Release Form and turn signatures in to the Adams Center.
- What Creative Commons license does the Adams Center use?
For podcasts produced in the Adams Center, we’re recommending the
Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike license. This license allows others to copy, distribute, and adapt the work with clear attribution of the original author. Commercial uses are not allowed without further permission.
For more information or a schedule of upcoming podcast training events, contact the Adams Center.
For Further Investigation
Creative Commons, Podcasting Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution.
For podsafe materials, try the CC Search or CC Content Directories
Eric Faden, A Fair(y) Use Tale: A Disney Review of Copyright, 2007.
Larry Lessig, How Creativity is Being Strangled by the Law, TED Talks, 2007.
