The professional librarian has a duty to keep the school community aware of all applicable copyright law. This falls under the umbrella of our role as Information Managers or Copyright Officers. The librarian is not an attorney so the followng is not to be construed as legal advice.
The laws surrounding use of any intellectual property have changed considerably since most teachers started teaching. The concept that anything can be copied legally for use in the classroom is no longer true - if it ever was.
Very briefly, a teacher can use an item under legal copyright or under "fair use". Using under legal copyright means the teacher has paid for the right to use it in the exact manner it will be used or fullfilled whatever requirments that the copyright owner has mandated.
Typical areas of unknowing copyright infringement are watching entire videos in the classroom that do not explicitly allow that use.
Fair Use is a provision that allows a teacher to use a portion of a work in a way that does not deprive the copyright owner of sales. The portion varies with respect to the type of work. The website below gives a link to a poster on more details of Fair Use.
Nuaset, MA Copyright & Fair Use Links
(This website was chosen because I coud find no Copyright Policy on the Boston Public Schools Site or the Mass Dept of ED website.)
