Special Copyright Issues in E-training and E-learning

Copyright Issues

     You have heard discussions about ethics, legal boundaries, and copying software. How would you react if the line you are trying not to cross, was constantly moving?

     Instructors had for decades been used to having permission to reproduce materials needed for learning. This capability was essential for preparing tests with questions related to the materials taught in class, and to supply materials along with sharing their own experiences on some topics.

     This ability has been severely compromised by publishing companies that also support the enforcement of licensing, patent, trademark, and copyright standards promoted by business partners for other circumstances. Everyone, even a corporate entity, has a right to be compensated for the work that they do. That has been accepted as ground for legal action in the past. The very definition of a Tort is an injury that has been suffered that compensation is expected for. Instructors had the understanding that the materials they used were paid for under different terms than the ones you and I are subject to, when we buy a movie, music, or a book. The reaction that happened when publishers began legal actions claiming the standards applied in educational circumstances were the same as applied to the general public, came as a shock.

     In order for the claims of the publishers to actually be regarded as true, legal precedents had to be set first. If you have taken the Business Law I course as part of your classes here at UNC Charlotte, then you already understand the importance of that step.


How much of this video can be posted for public viewing? How much can be used to train first responders? Currently, the answer is all of it.

     Each presiding judge who took on the issue, of course, had a slightly different interpretation of how the result “should be.” This was after all, a topic that had not been enforced in education, and had already caused a lot of strife when applied to the general public. What could be the limit for “fair use” for education? Should it be the same as the one for the general public? Are educators actually subject to the same licensing terms as the general public? Did the instructors have any reason to believe they had to conform to the restrictions applied by the publishing companies? How can instructors expect students to avoid plagiarism and copying, if the instructors did not follow the same practices? How much—or little—can be quoted without raising issues of plagiarism or words taken out of context? How will this affect education in countries outside the jurisdiction of the court? When does a modification, compromise the identity of the publisher? The last is an issue I aided with enforcement for many former clients, by preparing "identity guides" for business partners to follow--but they often had to be contacted in person for additional guidance. There are of course many additional questions raised that may not occur to those of us who have never been instructors, or publishers.

Is this the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte logo? How can you tell?

     There is currently no absolute answer to any of the questions raised. As far as the courts are concerned, this topic is still a gray area, an undefined issue, or a line that can be changed when some new information is made available to the court. A precedent that has been set yesterday may be changed tomorrow improving the standing of either—or both—parties. The most recent standard that I’ve heard applied was that 30 seconds or less of (video in this case) media can be used without crossing a line, both in general and in educational use. For published text, I have never heard a specific number of words that can be quoted.

     We all have to use our best ethical judgement; but those standards keep changing.

     Clarkson, Miller and Cross. Business Law: Text and Cases, Twelfth Edition, Vol. I. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. 

     Thank you to the NASCAR fans who provided the video shown above. 

     McDevvitt. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte Identity Standards Guide. Available at http://brand.uncc.edu/sites/brand.uncc.edu/files/media/PDFs/UNC_Charlotte_ISG_2009FEB19.pdf