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The University of New Mexico

Copyright and Fair Use for Distance Education

For Faculty

Teaching an online or hybrid course, or incorporating online material into a face-to-face course, poses some special considerations when it comes to respecting copyright and intellectual property laws. The following includes some guidelines and best practices to pursue, as well as information for specific types of media use. 

Make your students aware of copyright issues. If your students are going to be required to submit assignments that may call for the incorporation of media from outside sources, encourage them to review guides or materials that educate them about their own responsibilities with regard to copyright and fair use. Additionally, advise your students that the materials in the course are being presented for teaching, study, and research purposes only, and should not be disseminated outside of the learning environment.

Have a reason for using copyrighted material. Always ensure there is a pedagogical, educational purpose for the material you are utilizing. Explain the material in the context of the course before it is presented, along with why it was chosen for the course. In addition, ensure you provide credit or attribution to the known copyright owner of any material that you are using in a course.

Get help! Finally, if you are developing an online course and need assistance in how to incorporate media without violating copyright, UNM Libraries, UNM IT Academic Technologies, and UNM Online Course Development departments can guide you in making the right decision for your course. 

Video

Link to video from within your course rather than making an electronic copy available to students. The link should be to a source which does not infringe on the copyright owner’s protections. Contact UNM Libraries to see if you can obtain a persistent URL for the video you wish to use.

In the event you need to copy or embed part of a video in your course, do not use any more of the video than the amount needed to serve your pedagogical purpose.

Audio

Link to audio from within your course rather than making an electronic copy available to students. The link should be to a source which does not infringe on the copyright owner’s protections. Contact UNM Libraries to see if you can obtain a persistent URL for the audio you wish to use.

In the event you need to copy or embed audio in your course, do not use any more of the recording than the amount needed to serve your pedagogical purpose.

Still Images

Link to the images from within your course rather than making an electronic copy available to students. If this is not possible or would otherwise disrupt or take away from the educational goal, the image should serve a clear pedagogical purpose and use the lowest (but still legible) resolution of that image to obtain the educational goal. Contact UNM Libraries to see if you can obtain a persistent URL for the image you wish to use.

In the event you need to copy or embed images in your course, ensure that the images do more than serve an aesthetic or decorative purpose – keep the pedagogical purpose in mind. 

Text Materials

Link to text from within your course rather than making an electronic copy available to students. The link should be to a source which does not infringe on the copyright owner’s protections. Contact UNM Libraries to see if you can obtain a persistent URL for the text you wish to use.

In the event you need to copy or embed text in your course, use only what you need in order to serve your educational purpose.

For Students

Your online instructor may require assignments from you that involve more media than a traditional course would. There are a few things to take into consideration when using video, images, audio, or text materials in your online assignments to ensure you are complying with copyright laws.

Always cite your sources. Even if your use of a particular work is not a copyright violation, if the work is not cited or attributed, it could be considered plagiarism, which is a violation of UNM’s Academic Dishonesty policy.

Use only what you need. Using only what’s necessary from another person’s work in order to convey your ideas will make it less likely that you are running afoul of copyright laws.

Learn about your own intellectual property rights. Students hold the copyright to the works they create, even if those works were created to fulfill class or degree requirements. Learn more about UNM’s Intellectual Property Policy, which applies to all UNM faculty, staff, and students.

Here are a few resources to get you started on understanding your responsibilities when it comes to copyright:

Sources: