I’m very excited as we continue onto this journey, and I hope you are too! Natalie Synders will continue to be our guide as we make our way through this crazy jungle called “Copyright.” If you missed it, catch up on reading Part 1: Copyright Basics. We all can use a little bit of learning in this all-too-often confusing area and Natalie’s knowledge on this topic is extensive.
Part 2: Copyright and Images
One area of copyright that seems murky for many is the use of images online. In your classroom, through what is known as “educational use,” you are generally allowed to use whatever images you want for your students. Say you are making some materials for a student working on K, and you want a picture of a truck. You just google “truck images,” find one you like, and copy and paste right into your document. However, when you post things online – and it is important to note that it does notmatter if your items are free or paid, or on your personal blog – you are subject to copyright law. You should only use images you created yourself, own the rights to use commercially, or are in the public domain – and you must follow the terms of use. Most sellers purchase clip art that allows commercial use, which can be found on TpT directly or on websites like etsy.com. (Ever wonder why you can’t edit most files from TpT because they are in PDF form? One reason is to protect the artist’s images so they cannot be easily copied or used by someone who has not directly purchased a license to use them.)
Another issue with images that I have seen frequently with SLP sellers is the use of Mayer Johnson’s Boardmaker images in both free and paid products. First of all, if you are using these images, you need to have your own personal copy of Boardmaker. Remember what I said about asking yourself, “Does this belong to me?” If it belongs to your school or district, then you should not be using it. If it does belong to you, you need to check Mayer Johnson’s terms of use (which may change at any time the company chooses). Previously, they did not allow free items containing Boardmaker symbols to be posted anywhere but their site, Boardmaker Share. When I checked their website today, it looks like you must request and receive permission to use more than 50 symbols in a single product, while it is permissible to use less than 50 symbols in a product with the following stipulations:
· You must include their requested copyright information on each reproducible page: The Picture Communication Symbols ©1981–2010 by Mayer-Johnson LLC. All Rights Reserved Worldwide. Used with permission. Boardmaker™ is a trademark of Mayer-Johnson LLC.
· You must also include their company information in the resource/credit section of your document:
DynaVox Mayer-Johnson; 2100 Wharton Street; Suite 400; Pittsburgh, PA 15203; Phone: 1 (800) 588-4548; Fax: 1 (866) 585-6260; Email: mayer-johnson.usa@mayer-johnson.com; Web site: www.mayer-johnson.com
Did you know the image issue carries over to the personal website, blogging, and Pinterest worlds as well? To comply with copyright laws, you can’t just put whatever images you want on your website – you need to have permission to use the images. Perhaps you want to share a picture of what another blogger or pinner created on your own blog – first, check the terms of use from original source. Some bloggers will allow you to use one of their pictures and/or 1-2 lines of text without direct permission, as long as you provide a link back to their original post. Others would prefer to be contacted directly for permission. Again, check the original site! (My friend Katie over at Playing With Words 365 has a great post on this issue and the terms of use for her blog – check it out here for further information: http://www.playingwithwords365.com/2013/02/how-you-can-share-my-content/) And if you are a blogger and don’t have a terms of use section on your site, I would definitely suggest adding one!
Unfortunately, you can’t always find the original source – in that case, I probably would not use the image, but you can reference it and give a link to where you found it, however (ex: “Check out this cool idea for student pencil holders! I’m not sure of the original source, but I found the picture here: www.pinterest.com/example”).
It is also not allowed to offer products or activities (whether free or paid) directly on your own website without direct permission from the author. Again, providing the original link is fine, but providing direct downloads is against copyright law. Same goes for sharing materials in real life – it is illegal to make copies of all of your TpT downloads (whether free or paid) for your teacher and SLP friends. However, you are more than welcome to send them the direct link to where they can download or purchase the item, or purchase multiple user licenses on TpT (usually half price).
One last note about copyright – I have seen a great deal of confusion about free vs. paid products, and what you are allowed to do with them. In fact, I have found several of my own freebies posted without my permission on other websites (even though I have clearly stated in my terms of use that copying, posting elsewhere online, or sharing downloads is strictly forbidden). When asked to remove them, one of the people told me, “But it was a free item. That means I can do what I want with it.” This is not true – remember what I said about asking, “Does this belong to me?” That question does not take price into the equation, because the price doesn’t matter. The main thing you need to remember about copyright is, if it is not yours, don’t use it!
Thanks Natalie! Please stop by next Tuesday for Copyright with Natalie Snyders Part 3: Trademark and Examples
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Carissa says
August 13, 2013 at 8:56 pmGreat info, Natalie! Thanks for hosing, too, Nicole! 🙂
Carissa
Home Sweet Speech Room
Jen Shamberger says
August 13, 2013 at 9:10 pmGreat information as always Natalie! Thanks for sharing!
Communication Station: Speech Therapy, PLLC says
August 13, 2013 at 9:37 pmI like these installments on copyright information. They are short, sweet and to the point! Well done. Looking forward to the next edition!!!
Tracy Morlan says
August 13, 2013 at 10:34 pmExcellent info…thanks so much!
Sharon Schackmann says
August 13, 2013 at 10:55 pmGreat information, thank you!
Kathy Grover says
August 13, 2013 at 11:12 pmAlways good to keep on top of this issue. Thanks Natalie.
Christine Reeve says
August 20, 2013 at 9:38 pmThis is a great post! Thanks so much for sharing. Just a note, though, that Mayer Johnson actually still does not allow free items in any format other than bm2 (Boardmaker) files to be distributed. So you can’t use less than 50 symbols and distribute it for free if you make it a pdf file or some other format that doesn’t require the software to open it–although you can use this rule for paid products. They changed it a few months ago when free items were OK for a bit. Here is the link–it is kind of confusing and if I’m missing something please call me out on it. I just thought it was important for people to know because I know sites that have had Mayer Johnson contact them about free items. http://www.mayer-johnson.com/pcs-give-away/ I had to change a free product to paid on TPT because they changed it. Thanks again for this great post and for making people aware of the Boardmaker restrictions.
Chris
Nicole Allison says
August 20, 2013 at 11:47 pmThanks so much for letting us know, Chris! Copyright can be confusing and overwhelming and I know I need lots of people out there willing to research it and tell what they find out. I hope lots of people see your comment-thanks for taking the time to write it. =)
Nicole Allison says
August 20, 2013 at 11:46 pmThis comment has been removed by the author.