See also:
Managing Your Copyrights
for information on submitting your own work for publication

Copyright Information

for MIT Faculty mounting course material on the Web

Nearly everything that's "published" is owned (copyrighted) by someone, and there are laws and policies that affect putting such material on the Web for your course. This page is meant to give you basic information on the topic, including "Fair Use" options, as well as link you to much more complete information should you need it.

Copyright is PROBABLY NOT AN ISSUE with:

Your lecture notes
Your course syllabi/reading lists
The problem sets you've developed for your courses
The tests you've created for your courses
Publications of the US Government
Published works for which copyright has expired or does not apply, i.e. works in the Public Domain

Copyright MAY BE AN ISSUE when dealing with:

Journal articles, or excerpts from them
Books, or excerpts from them
Databases and electronic journals
Musical works, scores, lyrics, and sound recordings
Pictorial/graphic works, art, sculpture, photographs
Audiovisual works, motion pictures, videos, video games
Computer software

Online databases and electronic journals: Can I copy or link to them?

The vast majority of these products are available at MIT under the terms of license agreements. These contracts determine how each electronic journal or database can be used. License terms override copyright law where they differ. More information on license terms for specific products can be found in Vera (the Libraries' list of electronic resources), as enumerated behind the red "L" button associated with the title.
Linking to a database or an e-journal from a course page is generally allowed, and is the recommended method for providing online information content. More information on linking
Saving the content (even a single article) from a database or an e-journal and reposting it in an open access environment is prohibited. Reposting in a password controlled environment may or may not be allowed. Contact Ellen Duranceau, Digital Resources Acquisitions Librarian efinnie@mit.edu to determine whether the e-journal or database from which you wish to post content allows it.

What are my "Fair Use" options?

Fair Use provisions of the copyright law allow reproduction and distribution of copyrighted materials on a limited basis for specific purposes without the permission of the copyright holder. In order for Fair Use to apply, the reproduction and distribution must be for the noncommercial purposes of teaching, scholarship or research (among other things - see the Four factor test for fair use).
This is a limited right. It generally means you cannot reproduce or distribute large portions of a book or multiple articles from the same issue of a journal. A reasonable interpretation of this right is one (1) article per issue of a journal, and one-tenth of a book; use beyond this allowance may require payment of copyright royalty fees to the publisher.
More on Fair Use

If Fair Use does not apply:

You can usually pay a fee to the rights holder in order to use material. MIT has a central rights manager in the Copy Technology Center, or you may use the Copyright Clearance Center, a commercial service.

Where to go for further advice:

MIT Libraries - If you have questions, send email to: copyright-lib@mit.edu

Links to other resources about copyright:

The Copyright Book: A Practical Guide by William S. Strong (1999 book published by the MIT Press which is available online for members of the MIT community. You will need to register, creating an individual username and password, in order to access this book.)
MIT General Counsel’s Office (Central MIT resource for IP issues)
MIT - Copyright Central (useful links to more information on copyright, originally compiled by the MIT working group in 1995; last update in 1999)
University of Texas - Copyright Crash Course (a useful tutorial on copyright)