In speaking to a group of web enthusiasts at Brown, it was obvious that they were very interested in the copyright implications of posting papers on the web. Many were not aware that this is a form of publication, which is covered by copyright. Indeed, copyright law applies to electronic data in the same way that it does to printed material.

The Copyright Act of 1986 and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act give the right of reproduction, distribution, adaptation, performance and display exclusively to the creator(s) of any original work whether it is literary, musical, dramatic, pantomime, choreographic, pictorial, graphic, sculptural, audiovisual, audio or architectural work. Thus, putting someone else's works on the web requires the permission of the creator unless one is linking directly to the work on a publisher's site. One must also be careful that the site you connect to is itself not illegally produced.

Sometimes authors sign away their rights to the copyright of their original work to the publisher. These contract or license agreements override copyright. As a result, it may not even be possible to post one's own work on one's own web site. Savvy faculty and other writers now retain the right(s) to their own works when signing copyright forms by giving the publisher the exclusive first publication rights and a non-exclusive license for other uses of the work by including phrases like: "copyright in the work remains with the author". How to retain such rights is explained in detail at the following web site: :http://www.createchange.org/librarians/issues/manage_ex1.html

There is a limit on the exclusive rights of the creator of a work, which is known as "fair use." The law states:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

The Brown University Library like many educational institutions encourages fair use. Of course, this means, when a paper is put on the web for a course under this provision, it is necessary to have password control in order to insure it is accessed only by the class. For more on this concept and other information on copyright, go to our Copyright Information website at: http://www.brown.edu/Administration/Copyright/ or http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/University_Library/copyright/index.html

--Frederick C. Lynden

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