Boxer Library
Welcome to a chilly start of 2024. This month we are changing things up a bit to focus on one topic with resources and information about copyright, a topic which many have questions about.
Subjects highlighted in this newsletter include:
As always if you have any questions about copyright, feel free to reach out to the library team for assistance.
*Please note, the library only provides information and educational materials on copyright. This information does not serve or substitute for legal advice.
Copyright is a legal concept that grants creators exclusive rights to their original works, such as literature, art, music, and software. Individual countries have their own copyright laws. In the U.S., copyright is protected under federal law (Title 17 in the U.S. Code), which protects both published and unpublished works. Copyright serves as a mechanism to protect intellectual property and ensures that creators have the right to control how their work is used, reproduced, and distributed.
For healthcare professionals, understanding and respecting copyright is crucial as you engage in research and other scholarly communications. Adhering to copyright laws helps students and professionals avoid plagiarism, acknowledges the intellectual contributions of others, and promotes ethical research practices. It also enables you to navigate the use of third-party materials in your own work while respecting the rights of the original creators. Awareness of copyright can help students and professionals ethically build upon the ideas of others while also encouraging to develop your own
What is fair use?
Defined as an aspect of copyright law that in some instances allows for the reproduction of reasonable portions of a copyrighted work without the need to secure permission from the copyright holder for the purposes of “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research" per the U.S. Codes: Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107.
Fair Use is applied with vastly different qualities depending on the usage. Fair Use on YouTube often focuses on whether or not the use of copyrighted information and videos for purposes of commentary or satire is transformative enough to not be considered copyright infringement, while, in education, articles, small sections of books and videos can be made available to students via the library or their instructors on a temporary basis without any transformative aspect because the reproduction is for educational purposes.
For further information on Fair Use, check out our page on the Boxer Library website.
To take advantage of the ability to make articles and book chapters available for your class, please see the Boxer Library’s page on D2L eReserves.
How do I get a license for my work?
Upon creating a work you automatically have a copyright license! There is no need to register. However, if you would like to indicate how you would like other’s to use your work, you can create a Creative Commons License. Creative Commons provides public copyright licenses that allows you to designate reasonable restrictions in how others use your work and how you would like others to interact with your work. There are six different license types offered by Creative Commons. It is important to note only the copyright holder or someone with expressed permission from the copyright holder can apply a license. Also, once a license is applied, it cannot be revoked. For more information on copyrighting your work through Creative Commons on the Creative Commons website.
Do I have to worry about copyright if I want to use a material for educational purposes?
The short answer is: yes. While it is possible to use copyrighted materials as fair use for educational purposes, there are guidelines to determine if your intended use falls within this usage. A few areas to consider are the amount of an author’s work and/or cumulative amount of a collective work being used and the purpose of the use. The full list of guidelines can be found in our Copyright and Fair Use guide.
What are my rights as a published author?
When you create something tangible, you automatically own the copyright over the work. This includes any articles, books, data sets, or other tangible research materials. You do not need to do anything in order to own the copyright. However, you need to make sure that you understand what will happen to your copyright after you publish your work. When you publish your work, you will likely have to sign an author agreement with the publisher. This is where you will find information on how your work will be licensed when you publish it. Here are tips on what to look for in your author agreement
Are copyright and plagiarism the same thing?
In short, copyright is protected under federal law and plagiarism is not. Copyright and fair use guidelines provide useful guidance, but they do not tell us when we should give credit to the creators of the materials we use or how we should do it. Plagiarism, or the appropriation of another person’s ideas, processes, results, or words without giving appropriate credit, is not a legal issue, but a moral one not covered by copyright laws. Nonetheless, it has meaningful consequences in an academic environment and is considered research misconduct that may lead to appropriate punishments.
The best way to avoid plagiarism is by always attributing the works that you have consulted or quoted using proper citation styles. The two most common citation styles in healthcare are the American Medical Association (AMA) citation style and the American Psychological Association (APA) Citation Style. If you have any questions on how to use these styles to reference your sources, see our style guides on the library website.
How does copyright Effect Interlibrary Loan
While Interlibrary Loan is a great way to gain access to articles and books the library does not own, copyright guidelines set some limits on what may be ordered.
The Rule of Five limits how many articles may be ordered from the same journal in one calendar year to no more than five. This only applies to articles published in the last 5 years and materials older than this may be requested without restrictions.
The Rule of Two prevents a single patron from requesting more than one article per issue of a journal.
Breaking these guidelines may be seen as an attempt to use ILL as a substitution to purchasing a subscription to an academic journal. There are, however, some exceptions that may allow us to order more articles than recommended. If you are unsure if your requests are permissible under these limitations, please email us with your questions at ill@rosalindfranklin.edu
What is the Public Domain?
Public domain refers to creative works, such as literature, art, music, or inventions, that are not protected by intellectual property laws like copyright or patent. These works are considered to be freely available for use by the public, as the rights of the original creator have either expired or been waived. In the public domain, anyone can use, modify, and distribute the works without seeking permission or paying royalties.
What is Public Domain Day?
Public Domain day occurs every year on January 1st, and signifies the day new works are entering the Public domain under U.S. copyright law. Some notable works entering the public domain in 2024 include but are not limited to:
Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love - Musical composition by Cole Porter; from the musical Paris
Copyright guide
Read more information about copyright, fair use, the public domain, creative commons and more in the Boxer Library’s Copyright guide!
Public domain resources
The following are sites where you can search for public domain images and other resources. It is good to remember to be flexible–you may not be able to find exactly what you’re looking for because it may not be in the public domain.
These are just a few sites where you can find public domain images. Please contact the Boxer Library for help trying to find specific public domain images at eResources@rosalindfranklin.edu.
Want to request a session on Copyright?
Are you interested in learning more about copyright or would like us to teach a session on copyright? You can request an appointment or fill out our instruction request form.
*Please note, the library only provides information and educational materials on copyright. This information does not serve or substitute for legal advice.
Secret Items to checkout from the library
Everyone knows the library has books, models, markers, and chargers for nearly every device that has existed in the last twenty years, but did you know we have so many other charger types, adapters and convertors? If your brand-new laptop only takes USB-C and all your cords are USB, we have an adapter both for that and the reverse, if you’ve got an older laptop and a shiny new cord, or no cord at all. Of course, if you have too many cords, there is also a USB/USB-C docking station.
We also have a brand new set of wireless, over-the-ear headphones and so many outlet strips. Please stop by the circulation desk to check them out.
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