Copyright, Public Viewing, and Fair Use Policy for Rockhurst University

Introduction:

Rockhurst University fully respects the rights that exist for any material protected under United States and international copyright laws. Rockhurst University recognizes the use of copyrighted materials is an essential component of academic and other co-curricular campus activities. This policy outlines the University's procedures regarding the legal use of copyrighted works.

Public Areas vs. Private Areas of Rockhurst University

The University distinguishes between public areas and private areas. Public areas are physical areas on the campus accessible to anyone without permission, including students, faculty, staff, and visitors such as auditoriums, large open areas or other campus facilities intended for large audiences.

Private areas are those where access is restricted to specific individuals or groups, such as residence halls, physical classrooms, offices, or online meeting spaces such as Zoom or MS Teams

Public Performance Rights

Public performance rights refer to the legal right to perform, display, or show a copyrighted work publicly, such as a movie theater, television, or a public place. In most cases, public performance rights are required to show an entire copyrighted work in a public place, such as a public university event or university sponsored group, even if the audience is limited to a specific group of people. Obtaining public performance rights ensures that the owner of the copyright is compensated for the use of their work and avoids potential legal issues related to copyright infringement.

Public performance rights are requiredif the showing of an entire copyrighted work is:
1. open to the public, such as a screening at a public event, OR
2. in a public space where access is not restricted, such as a showing of a film for a class in a venue open for anyone to attend, OR
3. formally sponsored by a Rockhurst University club or organization.

Public performance rights are not requiredif the showing of an entire copyrighted work is:
1. privately viewed in a home with only family and friends in attendance, OR
2. in the public domain.

For questions about public performance rights, please reach out to the Computer Services Help Desk.

Student Housing:

Student housing is residential and typically falls within the private area category of Rockhurst University. If an informal group of students, some of whom live in the dormitory, view a copyrighted work in entirety in that location, public performance rights would not be required as this is akin to private viewing. If the viewing is formally sponsored by the University, club, or student organization, then performance rights would be required, regardless of location.

Student housing screening areas are intended for residential student usage. Signage will be posted noting students are using university property when accessing individual subscription accounts and will state the following information:

“This screen and streaming device are university property. If you use this property to access individual streaming accounts (i.e. Netflix, Hulu, etc.) then you must sign in and sign out each time of usage. Do not save your personal account information to this university device. This will protect your accounts as well as avoid issues for Rockhurst. Thank you for protecting yourself, fellow students, and RU”.

Fair Use Doctrine for the Instructional Use of Copyrighted Materials

Fair Use is a doctrine in US copyright law allowing limited use of copyrighted materials without permission. To qualify for fair use, the following four criteria must all be met when using an entire work:

The use must be a "regular part of systematic instructional activities"
The use must be in a nonprofit educational institution
The use must be in a classroom or "similar place devoted to instruction"
The copy used must be lawfully made or legally obtained.

Instructors can use the Rockhurst University Fair Use Checklist to determine if intended use is considered fair use.

Copyrighted Work Usage within Online Instruction

Course modality is another factor determining which guidelines and laws apply to legal use of copyrighted work.

Online instruction is more restricted on usage of entire copyrighted works due to the DMCA Act and TEACH Act. Licenses for instructional software also trump copyright laws and may be more strict in their requirements.

Instructors using university Zoom accounts are required to follow the Zoom Terms of Use, which prohibit transmitting entire streamed works, recordings, or performances through Zoom without acquiring broadcasting licensure for the work prior to playing through Zoom.

As a condition to using Microsoft services, instructors using university MS Teams accounts, or any other Microsoft product (i.e. Stream), are prohibited by Microsoft’s Terms of Use “to use the services for any unlawful action”, including making material protected by intellectual property laws, such as copyright or trademark laws, available.

An instructor may play reasonable and limited portions of a work through Zoom or MS Teams. To determine what is a reasonable portion, instructors can use the Fair Use Checklist to determine if intended use is considered fair.

Copyrighted Work Usage within In-Person Instruction

For educational purposes only, if a faculty member has a DVD or subscription/account to the streaming service (a “legally obtained copy”), the entirety of the performance can be shown during face-to-face, in-person instruction only.

Faculty may not share their individual streaming subscription account information to students. Students may use their own individual accounts to view entire works outside of class.

Faculty may reach out to the Greenlease Library Director, Laura Horne-Popp, who can assist in determining if the University is positioned to handle the request for content usage. Detailed information regarding Guidelines for Copyright, Fair Use and additional laws can be found at: http://libguides.rockhurst.edu/copyrightguidelines.

Last Review Date

2024/05/04