tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042596096231582762.post5953052615028048274..comments2023-12-07T02:50:11.577-06:00Comments on Kol Safran קול ספרן: What is Copyright? part 1Daniel D. Stuhlmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05637975076937918147noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7042596096231582762.post-42046122360298677362010-11-07T14:48:41.393-06:002010-11-07T14:48:41.393-06:00The Australian librarian that Daniel mentions was ...The Australian librarian that Daniel mentions was me and I need to clarify his statement "I heard from a librarian in Australia who told me that Australian law and practice concerning fair use of materials in schools differs greatly from American law. The Australian government has an arrangement with publishers and allows more latitude for copying under fair use than the U.S. Code." http://kol-safran.blogspot.com/2010/11/what-is-copyright-part-1.html <br /><br />Australian schools come under either a state department of education, or, for private schools, an overarching authority such as the Catholic Education Office. These authorities purchase copyright licences on behalf of their schools - their cost is second only to that of salaries, I believe - so that we are able to use print, electronic, video and digital materials in the classroom that go beyond the scope of fair use law. So all copyright holders get paid - there is an official annual audit undertaken from a sample of schools to determine what its being used so that this is calculated. So the arrangement is not between the federal government and publishers; specific licences are purchased, but they are negotiated and paid by the education authority not the individual school.<br /><br />To support these, there is a website that spells out, in plain language, what we can and cannot do so there is little room for different interpretation of the legalese that much of the copyright legislation is written in. http://www.smartcopying.edu.au <br /><br />In addition, there are two schemes which provide authors with "royalties' for materials housed in public and school libraries.<br /><br />We also have free access to a large repository of digital learning objects and other resources that are housed by various organisations throughout Australia and New Zealand through a federally funded initiative called The Learning Federation. They negotiate and pay the copyright so it can be used by schools, public and private, K-12 without fuss.<br /><br />As a result, authors and publishers are fairly compensated, and teachers and students can use most materials quite readily. There are queries, of course, but these are easily answered through the website or we can ask for a free ruling from the Copyright Council.<br /><br />All in all, it would seem we have a much more workable and stressless situation than you do.<br /><br />Barbara Braxton<br />Teacher Librarian<br />COOMA NORTH NSW 2630<br />AUSTRALIABarbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16132379173589965916noreply@blogger.com