Important Copyright Information for Blackboard Users
All copyrighted works posted and used on Blackboard are subject to US copyright law. Copyright law allows for fair use of copyrighted materials. It is the responsibility of a user of Blackboard to understand fair use before posting material. A worksheet on fair use can be found at http://www.lib.unc.edu/copyright/#3
If a fair use analysis does not support the use, either permission of the rightsholder should be sought or an alternative should be considered. No centralized university funds are available to pay for permission fees. Some alternatives to consider are:
- Consult with your department to see if funds are available for classroom permission fees.
- Link directly to resources available in the University Library’s many electronic databases. Linkguide provides instructions on how to create persistent links to many of the library’s electronic resources.
- Instructors may also consider the use of the University Library’s E-reserves or Health Sciences Library E-reserves. The library absorbs permission fee costs for material put on e-reserve.
- Substitute material that is not subject to copyright.
For more information about fair use and obtaining permission, visit the University Committee on copyright’s web page. Questions may be addressed to the Chair of the Copyright Committee, Leah Dunn.
