This guide has been retired and replaced.
Please visit the updated Copyright Guide at https://libguides.unco.edu/copyright
A look at the UNC Libraries’ alphabetical list of online article indexes and reference sources (http://library.unco.edu/dbasesalph.htm) or at the journals alphabetically listed by title (http://source.unco.edu/screens/journalfinder.html) reveals a virtual smorgasbord of choices for research and teaching. How does the digital format change copyright? The same ethical principles that support copyright protections for traditional print formats of intellectual property also protect digital formats of intellectual property. But actual practice can be confusing.
A simple way to ensure trouble-free and legitimate access to licensed electronic resources is to direct your students to consistently use the library’s web page as their primary research portal. When faculty or students use the links on library web site, and when the links are accessed from on-campus computers, the publishers’ servers verify the user as UNC-affiliated. When users link to electronic resources through the library web pages, but instead use an off-campus computer, they are automatically routed through a routine that verifies them as UNC-affiliated. But here’s where copyright law comes in. Once the resources are legitimately accessed, it is then the user’s personal responsibility to follow copyright law.
Institutional and Personal Obligations
The library has entered into contractual licenses for the various electronic resources. For example, most contracts specify that access to the content is for UNC students, faculty and staff exclusively (one typical exception is “walk-up,” in-person use by the library’s community patrons). Thus, publishers only allow access to content via computers within the UNC IP range. Our IT system filters off-campus users, each with a unique username and password, through a verification routine. Another typical restriction is a limit to the number of simultaneous users. In addition, most of these licenses contain provisions that underscore the importance of following copyright law provisions. When using each electronic resource, you are personally obligated to follow copyright law and to comply with the publisher’s guidelines (often reiterating copyright law).
Here is a typical example from a major publisher, Sage Publications. Note the references to (1) restrictions: use must be personal, non-commercial, and within fair use limitations; (2) permissions procedure if outside these uses; (3) correct attribution (citation); and (4) exclusivity.
Proprietary Rights Notice for SAGE Journals Online Copyright © 2007, SAGE Journals Online by SAGE Publications
1. The person using SAGE Journals Online may view, reproduce or store copies of articles comprising the journal provided that the articles are used only for their personal, non-commercial use. Uses beyond that allowed by the "Fair Use" limitations (sections 107 and 108) of the U.S. Copyright law require permission of the publisher.
2. For permissions to copy beyond that permitted by the U.S. Copyright Law and for reprints, contact the Copyright Clearance Center.
3. Any uses and or copies of this Journal in whole or in part must include the customary bibliographic citation, including author attribution, date, article title, SAGE Journals Online, and the URL http://online.sagepub.com/ and MUST include a copy of the copyright notice.
4. Personal accounts and/or passwords may not be shared. (from http://online.sagepub.com/policies/terms.dtl)
Some resources are open-access (such as Directory of Open Access Journals) and are not password-protected. But content is often copyrighted, so fair use and citation strictures still apply.
So, you’ve found the perfect article to discuss with your students: Mascaro, N., & Rosen, D. (2006, April). The Role of Existential Meaning as a Buffer Against Stress. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 46(2), 168-190.
Should you download the 22-page article and post it on your course web site or Blackboard page?
An alternative to placing full-text copies of licensed electronic resources on your web page or Blackboard is to instead provide your students with URL links to materials. When you download full-text content for students and post it online, you risk violating copyright. You may fail the tests for allowance of multiple copying for classroom use. According to copyright expert Lolly Gasaway, J.D., a copy is made when a work is scanned, input, or copied to send, and thus, copies in computer memory are copies that count (http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/gasaway.htm). It is best practice to simply provide links. And if you plan to use the resource extensively and/or repeatedly (greater than “fair” usage), then publisher permission would be required. Library e-reserves or coursepacks would be good alternatives.
Many databases now provide the direct article-level URL as part of the abstract information. And in EbscoHost databases, you may retrieve the persistent/durable URL from your e-mailed citation (http://support.epnet.com/knowledge_base/detail.php?faq=272). In Sage Full Text, for example, when creating a link to an article for your students you may link at the journal level (https://unco.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://jhp.sagepub.com/) or more deeply to the article level (https://unco.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://jhp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/46/2/168).
If you have questions regarding the licensing restrictions for a specific electronic resource, or need assistance in formulating a link for your classes, please contact our Electronic Resources Librarian, Jennifer Leffler.
Selective list of major publishers’ (licensors') terms & conditions:
