For-profit educational institution
- August 9, 2004 @ 3:25pmnoodles says:Hello to all.
I work for a for-profit school. Because of this, I am a little confused on what we can and cannot do with different types of copyrighted materials. Are there any good resources that can clarify what differences there are between the educational uses that are permissible for non-profit schools vs. for-profit schools.
Thank you very much.
M. Edwards - August 11, 2004 @ 11:56amTrishaDavis says:I am so glad you are at least looking for guidance on this issue, even though I have nothing to suggest. What I can tell you is that the Copyright Office placed considerable emphasis on the not-for-profit nature of educational institutions when the new laws were issued. You will need to be very careful as to which activities support the individual students and which might lead to profit for the school, which could be contrued as "commercial use"!
-- Trisha
[quote]Hello to all.
I work for a for-profit school. Because of this, I am a little confused on what we can and cannot do with different types of copyrighted materials. Are there any good resources that can clarify what differences there are between the educational uses that are permissible for non-profit schools vs. for-profit schools.
Thank you very much.
M. Edwards[/quote] - August 11, 2004 @ 2:47pmCarrie says:The non-profit educational institution is really special status in the copyright law. Most of the exemptions in copyright law have the "non-profit" condition as a pre-requisite to exercising an exclusive right.
But fair use still exists for for-profits, although you do tend to lose out on factor #1. But there are uses of copyright by for-profits that are not for the purpose of making a profit.
You could look at copyright policies and web sites for special libraries to check on how other for-profit libraries are handling copyright.
Good luck! - November 30, 2004 @ 7:35amaboyajian says:I am struggling with the same issue. We are for-profit 100% distance education. I can't figure out how or if the TEACH Act applies. It states:
"The benefits of the TEACH Act apply only to a "government body or an accredited nonprofit educational institution." In the case of post-secondary education, an "accredited" institution is "as determined by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education." ... Most familiar educational institutions will meet this requirement, but many private entities-such as for-profit subsidiaries of nonprofit institutions-may not be duly "accredited."
We are for-profit and accredited. What does it mean for us?
Venting for the lack of information... :?
Alana - November 30, 2004 @ 8:59amnoodles says:Since the law appears to be deliberately vague concerning for-profit educational institutions, I think whoever has the best lawyer wins!!
Seriously, it is really frustrating to try and explain our copyright conundrum to part-time faculty who also teach at other institutions in the area. It is difficult because the vagueness of the law on this point is hard for us non-legal types to really get our arms around to explain adequately. And bcause of this we meet resistance.
Maybe a couple of examples of the hot water that for-profit EDUCATIONAL institutions have gotten into would help. I think that the example of the Texacos of the world doesn't help us explain this any better. I wish I had the time and expertise to do the legal research on this, but I don't!
Does anyone else have thoughts on this?
mee
[quote]I am struggling with the same issue. We are for-profit 100% distance education. I can't figure out how or if the TEACH Act applies. It states:
"The benefits of the TEACH Act apply only to a "government body or an accredited nonprofit educational institution." In the case of post-secondary education, an "accredited" institution is "as determined by a regional or national accrediting agency recognized by the Council on Higher Education Accreditation or the United States Department of Education." ... Most familiar educational institutions will meet this requirement, but many private entities-such as for-profit subsidiaries of nonprofit institutions-may not be duly "accredited."
We are for-profit and accredited. What does it mean for us?
Venting for the lack of information... :?
Alana[/quote] - November 30, 2004 @ 11:56amCOvalle says:I would guess that a for-profit educational institution couldn't take advantage of the TEACH act provisions... being non-profit is one of the requirements for most of the 110(2) performance/display exemptions. I think for-profit institutions would need to rely on fair use and licensing.
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