Distance Learning & Copyright Seminar

[Lefkas29@xxxxxxx]

For those of you interested in copyright and other intellectual property issues associated with distance learning, Lorman Education Services is putting on a full-day workshop on the topic on October 25, 2002 in Cincinnati, Ohio. Additional information may be obtained at:

http://www.lorman.com/seminars/seminar_details.php?pid=39390

The agenda for the seminar is as follows:

9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Break 10:30 a.m. - 10:45 a.m.) 

I. Copyright Basics 

Since a general understanding of copyright law is necessary for every instructor incorporating another’s works into his or her course, this section addresses such questions as: 


• What is copyright? 

• How long does it last? 

• What is eligible for protection? 

• What constitutes “fair use”? 

• What are the penalties for infringing use? 


This portion also covers the assignment and licensing of copyrights and recent legal cases involving use of the sovereign immunity defense by state universities against intellectual property infringement claims. 


12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. 

Lunch (On Your Own) 


1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. 

II. Distance Learning Guidelines 

Often what is permissible practice in face-to-face teaching situations constitutes copyright infringement when used in distance learning. This section addresses the different laws applicable to each setting with emphasis on the evolving distance learning rules. Topics include the exemptions for distance learning contained in the Copyright Act, the “safe harbor” provisions of the CONFU guidelines, the Copyright Office’s recently proposed new legislation for digital distance learning and the TEACH Act. 


2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (Break 2:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.) 

III. Distance Learning and the WWW 

As more and more colleges offer courses over the Internet, a growing interrelationship between the World Wide Web and educational distance learning has developed. This section addresses questions distance learning instructors now face such as: 


• What should I include on my distance learning course home page? 

• May I copy items from other Internet sites? 

• May I freely link to the web sites of others? 

• How do I protect the material on my site? 

• Who owns the electronic course? 


This section also covers how to locate copyright owners and the potential liability of colleges and universities as Internet service providers under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. 


3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 

IV. Educational Multimedia Guidelines 

As educators use advancing communications technology to convey information to students, many instructors opt to develop multimedia presentations mixing text, sound, motion pictures and graphics to use in their distance learning courses, or even to market commercially. This section first explores the myriad of copyright issues involved in assembling a commercial multimedia product, and then discusses how to combine the works of others for educational purposes without triggering copyright infringement liability.