Vassar College Policy & Principles
Frequently Asked Questions About the Policy
- Why do we need a fair-use policy?
- What do I need to know about fair use?
- What are the origins of this policy?
- What are the purposes and effects of this policy?
- Who is subject to this policy?
- If I do everything that this policy directs, will the College defend me?
- Why not put explanations about fair use in the text of the policy?
- Why does the policy resist adoption of guidelines that explain fair use?
- Who can help me with copyright decisions?
- Your department chair, dean, director, or other supervisor.
- For library matters, the designated copyright liaison in the library.
- The Director of Copyright Management under the Office of the Dean of the Faculty
- Who is responsible for making fair use decisions?
- Who is responsible for resolving differences of opinion between parties regarding fair use?
- Who were the members of the Dean of the Faculty's College Copyright Committee that proposed this policy?
- Shirley Maul, Associate Director for Readers Services, Chair
- Mark Andrews, Associate Professor of French
- Diane Balestri, Director of Computing and Information Systems
- Sarah Canino, Music Librarian
- Stephen Dahnert, Assistant to the Vice President and Director of Campus Communications
- Robert DeMaria, Professor of English
- Cindy Dubinski, Reserve Room and Interlibrary Loan Coordinator
- Carolyn Guyer, Director of Web Development
- Thomas Hill, Art Librarian and Collection Development Librarian
- Glen Johnson, Professor of Political Science
- Rick Jones, Foreign Language Resource Center
- Michael Joyce, Associate Professor of English and the Library, and Director, Center for Electronic Learning and Teaching
- Sarah Kozloff, Associate Professor of Film
- Kathy Kurosman, Educational Technology Librarian
- Nancy MacKechnie, Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts
- Barbara Page, Associate Dean of the Faculty and Professor of English
- Sabrina Pape, Director of the Libraries
- Bill Straus, Associate Professor of Biology
- Steve Taylor, Manager, Instructional Media Services
- Claire Tooker, Manager, College Store
Copyright law increasingly affects scholarly pursuits. Not only are members of the college community creating new works that are entitled upon creation to copyright protection, but the routine conduct of scholarship, research and teaching regularly to uches upon the copyrights that the law grants to the owners of a vast and ever-increasing range of protected works. Protected works include text, images, software, audio, video, Internet sites, and other media that instructors, scholars, students and researchers commonly deploy in furtherance of their academic objectives. The exclusive rights belon ging to the copyright owner of all or part of those works include the right to make copies, to distribute copies, to make derivative works, and to perform or display the work publicly. The authors of some works are also entitled to "moral rights" in their works such as the right to attribution and the integrity of the work. Such uses of protected works are common in the college setting, but they will not be unlawful infringements if t hey are fair use. Some of those uses also will be allowed under highly specific exemptions in the copyright law, but those exemptions are not technically fair use and will be addressed outside this policy.
First and foremost, an underlying philosophy of this policy is that you will educate yourself about fair use sufficiently to enable you to reach responsible decisions; that you will seek when necessary the guidance of the Vassar Libraries and the Direc tor of Copyright Management under the Office of the Dean of the Faculty; and, that you will review and refer, when necessary, to the information provided on the Vassar College Copyright Guide at http://copyright.vassar.edu
The genesis of this policy occurred in deliberations of the Dean of the Faculty's College Copyright Committee in consultation with peer institutions, professional and scholarly organizations, the College's legal authorities, and copyright scholars. Vas sar College will continue to engage in a wide ranging discussion among its constituents to focus upon how best to secure and encourage learning, teaching and research while achieving an understanding of the rapidly evolving nature of information technology, publishing, an d media in our time. The College is likewise engaged in helping its members understand that many questions regarding acceptable use of copyrighted materials are under active discussion in legislative, academic, philanthropic, and professional venues, and is participating in such discussions as an interested party on behalf of the Vassar community.
To these ends the Dean and the committee expressed a desire for a fair use policy for Vassar College and a standard of fair use that was not unduly restrictive on the college's essential teaching, scholarship, educational and research activities.
This policy is deeply indebted to a similar, prior inquiry conducted by the Advisory Board of the Institute for the Study of Intellectual Property and Education at Indiana University. This proposal borrows substantially from the work of that institutio n and the language of its policies with the permission of Dr. Kenneth D. Crews, Associate Professor and Institute Director. However, Vassar College wishes to make an explicit statement that in providing this collegial assistance neither Indiana University nor its faculty, a dministration or staff in any way offered legal counsel or advice and that all responsibility for this policy resides with Vassar College.
Pursuant to Vassar College's Governance the policy was submitted to the Faculty Policy and Conference Committee and to the faculty and the Board of Trustees for approval.
The central purpose of this policy is to educate and assist members of the Vassar community with respect to the fair use of copyrighted materials in furtherance of the College's academic purpose and to promote a good-faith understanding of basic principles of copyright law and the application of the fair use provision. The intended eff ects of this policy are multifold. Readers should be able to make an informed and responsible determination of fair use, and they should be able to meet their and the College's teaching, scholarship, education and research needs without infringing upon the rig hts of copyright owners. While the policy calls on individuals to learn about copyright and to develop their ability to reach informed conclusions, one purpose of the policy is to allow faculty and others to exercise informed judgment while keeping their focus on the dissemination of knowledge and "the immediate experience of creative ideas, works of art, and sc ientific discoveries," as adopted by faculty and trustees in Vassar's statement of academic purpose.
This copyright policy applies to all members of the Vassar College community. The College does not offer indemnification for students who are not employed by the college, and is not legally responsible for the fair use activities that students undertak e independently in pursuit of their study or projects. The College does expect its students to act responsibly and ethically, in a manner consistent with this policy and according to the regulations outlined in the Student Handbook, as well as scholarly p ractice as described in "Originality and Attribution, A guide for student writers at Vassar College."
If faculty, librarians, staff and student employees act diligently in their academic duties, in good faith and in a manner consistent with this policy, indemnification by Vassar will be available in the event of an infringement allegation. Demonstratio n of good faith application of the four factors reduces the risk of liability in the event of infringement and increases the likelihood that activities are, in fact, fair use. Ultimately, good faith is best manifested thorough knowledge of, and diligent a pplication of, fair use.
While supplemental and explanatory materials are importantfor helping members of the college community to meet their responsibilities under this policy, the College believes that elaboration of the meaning and application of fair use ought not to form part of the policy itself. Fair use is part of the copyright law, and is subject to re-interpretation by court rulings. Copyright law evolves to adapt to changing needs and technologies, while fulfilling its constitutional objective "to promote the progress of scienc e and the useful arts by securing for limited times to authors and inventors the exclusive right to their respective writings and discoveries." To put details into the policy itself would tend to freeze the concept of fair use which is in a state of conti nuous transition. Thus, the policy remains spare in order to accommodate innovations in teaching, scholarship and research.
Fair use is not determined by "guidelines" that purport to define the boundaries of fair use. In an attempt to provide some clarification of the application of fair use to common situations, private parties have negotiated various guidelines, but those externally developed guidelines are often inappropriate for the realistic application of fair use to higher education. Such guidelines too often provide an unduly narrow or rigid definition of fair use, and they usually impose additional restrictions and conditions that are not part of the law and which may unduly hinder education and research. No such guidelines have been read into the law by Congress or the courts, and the guidelines are not binding. Fair use must be determined according to the specific circumstances of each situation.
Vassar College recognizes that innovative research and progressive instruction methods may give rise to the need for additional support in undertaking an analysis of fair use. For assistance with understanding or applying this policy you may contact:
This policy makes no change in the designation of authority within the College as outlined in the Governance and the Faculty Handbook. The primary responsibility for decisions about fair use resides with the individual who initiates the relevant project o r activity. Decisions about fair use are subject to review by designated officials of the College. Thus, if you are responsible for the activity or project, you are responsible for educating yourself about fair use and making the determination as to wheth er the use in question falls within or outside the scope of fair use; or, if necessary, seeking the support necessary to enable you to make this determination. In addition, you are responsible for obtaining all necessary and appropriate permissions and r ecordkeeping with respect to permissions.
The Director of Copyright Management in the office of the Dean of the Faculty.
In 2001 the members of Dean of the Faculty's College Copyright Committee were: