News & Blog

Whether you’re preparing course materials for your course or have questions about copyrighted works for your research, UCF Libraries has got you covered with a variety of services and resources to help you navigate the complexities of copyright in all your teaching & research endeavors.   

The Office of Scholarly Communication provides general information about copyright, fair use, and other copyright-related matters. In addition to our website, you can also find information on our various intellectual property research guides where we explore topics, such patents, trademarks, and copyright.   

If you have specific questions or would like to speak with a librarian about copyright, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Sarah Norris, is here to provide general information to faculty for teaching & research purposes. She is also offering online office hours for drop-in questions. You can find her current virtual office hours, as well as how to schedule an appointment here: https://library.ucf.edu/staff/norris-sarah/  

Summer is nearly here! As faculty work to develop online courses for the summer semester, questions may arise about copyright and fair use. Common questions about online classes and copyright include:

• Can I scan a book chapter and post it in Canvas?
• Am I allowed to add a PDF journal article to Canvas that I downloaded from UCF Libraries?
• Can I link to a YouTube video?

Whether you have a question about journal articles, e-books, or streaming video, UCF Libraries is available to assist you with any copyright, fair use, or licensing questions that you have.

The Office of Scholarly Communication offers a variety of resources and services to help you navigate the complexities of copyright in your online courses. Visit the website for more information about copyright: https://library.ucf.edu/about/departments/scholarly-communication/

If you have questions about copyright and fair use for your summer courses visit UCF Libraries Guide on Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: https://guides.ucf.edu/covid/home. It provides excellent resources and copyright clarifications to aid you in this process.

If you have additional questions, Scholarly Communication Librarian, Sarah Norris, is available to provide general guidance to faculty and staff about copyright and transitioning their classes online. For the month of May, Sarah is providing online office hours, Tuesday & Thursday, 11:30 a.m. – Noon. You can also reach her through email or phone.

Library Support for Course Materials

Whether you’re teaching online or face-to-face, UCF Libraries provide access to a variety of materials that can support your courses — from journal articles, streaming videos, e-books, and more. But, these materials have a wide variety of access models that are not always evident. In this session, UCF Librarians Sara Duff, Rich Gause, and Sarah Norris will share how to navigate the plethora of resources available to support teaching and learning with a particular emphasis on resources that can be used during remote teaching during emergency circumstances. How to access these materials and ensure they’re accessible by students, as well as copyright and licensing will also be explored in this session. 

Faculty Session: May 28, 2020 – 1:00 -2:00 pm

Copyright and Student Works

Copyright is an important part of student works. As UCF students, they not only use copyrighted content but are also creators of copyrighted content. That’s because when a student writes a research paper, thesis, or dissertation, creates a presentation, or produces any other original and creative work, students own the copyright of those works — without having to apply for copyright. In this session, we will explore copyright as it applies to students and will provide context and recommendations that faculty can use to help foster students to be good stewards of copyright and intellectual property and to aid in ensuring student copyright is protected. 

Open to all: June 16, 2020 – 1:00 – 2:00 pm

Sarah Norris, UCF Scholarly Communications Librarian, and Rich Gause, UCF Government Information Librarian, will provide a session on Copyright, Fair Use, and Online Teaching During Emergency Circumstances. This session will be held via Zoom on Thursday, May 7^th at 3 p.m. All UCF faculty are welcome to attend. The session will provide a bit of information on fair use (exploring the four fair use factors in depth) and other components that will be helpful as you consider the materials you need when teaching online. 

Specific copyright and fair use questions can be directed to Sarah Norris and Rich Gause ahead of time or during the session. 

Zoom Link for the online session

See also our online guide “Academic Resources during COVID-19 Situation: Copyright Clarifications”

The new semester is here. In the classroom, students read their syllabi and notice the policy sections.

Plagiarism is often mentioned in one or more sections, such as ones titled Honesty, Academic Misconduct, or Cheating.

Copyright infringement may also be mentioned, either together with plagiarism or in its separate section, such as Copyright Statement.

In the hurry and excitement of “syllabus day,” these terms may blur together. Plagiarism and copyright infringement are often confused or the terms are accidentally interchanged. They are different, and they have different consequences.

Our Research Guides discuss plagiarism and copyright. Rick Anderson also describes the differences clearly in a recent Library Journal article. Here is a summary of differences:

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