Copyright Policy Template

Copyright Policy Template This sample policy was created to assist you in developing a copyright compliance policy for your organization. organization. Please feel free to use this sample as a guideline in creating your own compliance policy. Due to the complex nature of copyright, it is recommended that your policy be reviewed by a lawyer who has an understanding of both copyright law and your organization’s organization’s use of copyrighted copyrighted materials. materials. This sample policy is not intended as legal advice or to serve as a substitute for legal counsel.

A. Statement of General Principles •

This section should be a broad based policy statement about your company’s approach to respecting and protecting the intellectual property rights rights of others others

()AM*+( -% I/R-DC/-R /A/(M(/ /- A %-C(D C-*RI/ *-+IC A. 4Co5pany6 78lly s8pports  and international copyright law and

re8ires all o7 o8r e5ployees to 78l:ll o8r 5oral and legal o;ligations with respect to o8r 8se o7 the copyright protected 5aterials 5aterial s o7 others. /o that end, and in 78l:ll5ent o7 o8r co55it5ent to protect the principles o7 copyright in general, e5ployees o7 4Co5pany6 sho8ld see< per5ission to 8se copyrighted wor
AD B. 4Co5pany6 ac
the law and 5ay i5pose civil and>or cri5inal lia;ility on the individ8al in7ringer, as well as on the in7ringer?s e5ployer. e5ployer. /here7ore, every e5ployee is re8ired to co5ply with copyright law and adhere to this copyright policy. policy. %ail8re to do so 5ay res8lt in disciplinary action. action .

-R /( %-++-@I R-AD(R /A/(M(/ A-/ I/(++(C/A+ *R-*(R/ 4Co5pany6 respects intellect8al property property and has 5ade it a priority to ens8re all e5ployees respect respect the copyrights o7 others. (very e5ployee e5ployee o7 4Co5pany6 is re8ired re8ired to co5ply with copyright law and to adhere to 4Co5pany?s6 copyright policy and g8idelines. g8idelines. Copyright in7ringe5ent in7ringe5ent thro8gh thro8gh inappropriate copying copying or distri;8tion o7 copyrighted content is a personal as well as a co5pany lia;ility and will res8lt in disciplinary action. %-++-@ /( II/IA+ /A/(M(/ @I/ /( %-++-@I *ARARA* 4Co5pany?s6 copyright policy provides a ;rie7 s855ary o7 .. copyright law, partic8larly as it relates to the 8se o7 othersB copyright"protected copyright"protected 5aterials,

Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923 9!"#0"!$00 %a& 9!"'$'"!'00 copyright.com

incl8ding p8;lished 5aterials, and to provide proced8res 7or o;taining copyright per5ission that sho8ld ;e 8sed consistently thro8gho8t 4Co5pany6. 1 o7 9

B. Goal of the Copyright Compliance Policy •

•

This section should specically reference an expectation that employees adhere to your company’s rules regarding the use of copyrighted materials both internally and external to your company This section should be broad based to include full and part time employees, and should also extend to all consultants, contractors and agents woring with your company

()AM*+( -% -A+ /A/(M(/ A. /he goal o7 this policy is 5eant to 78l:ll o8r o;ligations 8nder copyright law

and to ac
-R Copyright laws are generally not straight7orward and they have 5any gray areas. /he goal o7 this policy is to provide 4Co5pany?s6 e5ployees whether on a per5anent, te5porary or contract ;asis cons8ltants, and agents with a 8ni7or5 approach to addressing co5ple& copyright iss8es. 4Co5pany6 has designated 4a5e, /itle6 as the Copyright -=cer to ad5inister o8r organiEationBs copyright policy. 4a5e6 will oversee periodic 8pdates to the policy, as well as 8pdates res8lting 7ro5 related changes in policy or law. /he ai5 o7 this policy is to provide practical advice and proced8res, ;8t it is not a s8;stit8te 7or legal advice. *roper legal advice sho8ld ;e o;tained whenever necessary. F8estions regarding this policy and other topics s8ch as 7air 8se sho8ld ;e directed to 4a5e6, Copyright -=cer. 4a5e6 can also assist yo8 in o;taining advice 7ro5 a lawyer i7 needed.

B.

C. Important Information about Copyright G This section should provide basic information about

copyright

What is Copyright? /he p8rpose o7 copyright law is to provide a8thors and other creators and those who o;tain rights thro8gh s8ch persons with an incentive to create and


share creative wor
the right to incl8de a piece in a collective wor<, s8ch as p8;lishing an article in a ;oo< or Ko8rnalJ and the rights o7 attri;8tion and integrity 7or Ha8thors o7 certain wor
What is Protected by Copyright? /he rights granted 8nder the .. Copyright Act e5;odied in /itle 1 o7 the .. Code are intended to ;ene:t Ha8thors o7 Horiginal wor
types o7 organiEations have a copyright ter5 o7 9# years. %or wor>www.copyright.gov>circs>circ1.ht5lNhlc.

&air 'se %air 8se is a de7ense 8nder .. law that 5ay ;e raised ;y the de7endant in a copyright in7ringe5ent case. %air 8se recogniEes that certain types o7 8se o7 other peopleBs copyright protected wortitle1> . Altho8gh there are no a;sol8te r8les aro8nd 7air 8se, generally the reprod8ction photocopy or digital

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or 8se o7 so5eone else?s copyright"protected wor< is 5ore li
Copyright and &oreign Wor(s


/he .. is a 5e5;er o7 two 5aKor copyright treaties, the erne Convention and the niversal Copyright Convention. As s8ch, when 4Co5pany6 8ses a copyright"protected wor< 7ro5 al5ost any other co8ntry, .. copyright law applies to the 8se o7 that wor<, ass85ing the 8se ta
Copyright and %igital Wor(s Any non"digital content that is protected ;y copyright is also protected in a digital 7or5. %or e&a5ple, print ;oo
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protected ;y copyright law, as is an e"5ail letter. In ;oth cases, the copyright is generally owned ;y the a8thor, regardless o7 who has received the letter. @henever yo8 wish to 8se 5aterial 7o8nd on a we;site, it is always i5portant to review and 8nderstand the ter5s o7 8se 7or that site ;eca8se those ter5s will tell yo8 what 8se, i7 any, yo8 can 5a
%.Guidelines for the Appropriate 'se of Copyrighted )aterials •

•

This section should provide guidance and information to enable employees to mae appropriate decisions about the materials they need to use in their wor. This section should outline steps and processes to ensure the compliance of employees and the nature and extent of any disciplinary actions if non compliance is discovered.

*Company+ ,mployee-s !bligations under Copyright $a# o e5ployee o7 4Co5pany6 5ay reprod8ce any copyrighted wor< in print, video or digital 7or5 in violation o7 the law. @or

I7 an e5ployee wants to 8se 5aterial that is not covered ;y copyright, he or she sho8ld con:r5 that the 5aterial is not protected ;y any other area o7 law, s8ch as trade5ar< or trade secret law. I7 it has ;een created ;y an e5ployee o7 the co5pany, they can 8se the 5aterial 7reely, s8;Kect to the g8idelines set 7orth at the end o7 this doc85ent any corporate policies on the 8se o7 co5pany"generated 5aterials. I7 there is any do8;t whether a wor< is covered ;y copyright it is ;est to ;e ca8tio8s and to 7ollow the proced8res esta;lished 7or the 8se o7 copyrighted wor
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*Company-s+ ights #ith egard to Computer Systems and Soft#are 4Co5pany6 reserves the right to 5onitor e5ployee co5p8ter syste5s incl8ding des
'se of Company/Created )aterials @henever an e5ployee o7 4C-M*A6 creates written or other creative 5aterial s8ch as a @e; presentation or a8diovis8al piece, that 5aterial is pres85ptively protected ;y copyright. @orher>its rights in s8ch wor
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,. *Company-s+Copyright Compliance Procedures •

•

•

This section should provide instructions for the appropriate way to obtain permission to use copyrighted content This section should provide information about the rights conveyed under !!!’s annual copyright license, multinational license, digital rights amendments and pay"per"use service and provide guidance and information on any systems in place to assist appropriate content use, such as #ightsphere and #ightslin This section should include instructions and steps for the employee to tae in the event of suspected infringement and outline the resources available through your !orporate $ibrarian’s o%ce

"o# to !btain Copyright Permission


&act &inding 0uestions -nce yo8 have identi:ed the 5aterials yo8 want to 8se, as< yo8rsel7 the 7ollowing 8estionsL Is the wor< the type o7 wor< protected ;y copyrightO I7 so, are yo8 8sing the wor< in a 5anner that i5plicates the e&cl8sive rights o7 the copyright holderO Is it lishe 5ay get ;ac< to yo8 7aster. /he copyright owner, his>her representative and>or the licensing inter5ediary that represents the a8thor o7 the 5aterial G Description o7 5aterial

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G I or I, i7 applica;le standard n85;ers 8sed on 5ost p8;lished te&t 5aterial G Date o7 p8;lication, i7 applica;le G *8rpose 7or which yo8 wish to reprod8ce the ite5 research, co55ercial, ed8cational, etc. G ow the 5aterial is to ;e reprod8ced e.g., photocopied, digitiEed G @here the reprod8ced 5aterial will appear incl8ding internal vs. e&ternal 8se and 7or how long

Permission Procedures I7 4C-M*A6 holds an Ann8al Copyright +icense 7ro5 Copyright Clearance CenterL


4C-M*A6 holds an Ann8al Copyright +icense 7ro5 Copyright Clearance Center CCC. /he license ena;les e5ployees o7 4C-M*A6 in the nited tates to law78lly reprod8ce and distri;8te content in CCC?s repertory, in print or electronic 7or5at, within the co5pany. nder the license, 4C-M*A6 e5ployees can photocopy e&cerpts 7ro5 newspapers, 5agaEines, Ko8rnals and other copyright"protected wor58ltnationalcoverage . 4C-M*A6 5ay also wor< with Copyright Clearance Center to o;tain per5ission to reprod8ce and distri;8te copyright"protected te&t wor
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I7 4Co5pany6 does not wor< with Copyright Clearance Center, yo8 58st contact the copyright holder directly. As 5entioned, locating the copyright holder 5ay ta

/he Copyright -=ce at the +i;rary o7 Congress www.loc.gov 5ay ;e o7 assistance in locating a copyright owner. F8estions regarding non"te&t wor
"andling Copyright Infringement 4Co5pany6 e&pects its e5ployees to ;e responsi;le cons85ers o7 copyright" protected 5aterials. @e also enco8rage e5ployees to ed8cate their peers on copyright co5pliance. I7 any e5ployee witnesses a potential copyright in7ringe5ent, please ;ring the 5atter to the attention o7 the individ8al as well as to 4a5e6, 4Co5pany?s6 Copyright -=cer. (5ployees who illegally reprod8ce copyright"protected wor
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Copyright Policy Template

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