John Cabot University acknowledges and respects both Italian and U.S. copyright laws. However, given the fact that we are in Italy we have to comply to the Italian legislation, which is not teaching friendly.
Key points to remember:
- Fair Use: While Italian copyright law does provide for some exceptions for educational purposes, fair use as it is intended in the U.S. does not exist. Only small excerpts of parts of works can be SHARED in the classroom environment, both physical and, especially, remote.
- Attribution: When using copyrighted materials in your teaching, it's important to provide proper attribution to the original creators or sources. This includes citing the author's name, source, and any relevant copyright information.
- Password-Protected Environment: While using a password-protected platform like Moodle restricts access to enrolled students and faculty, this doesn't exempt us from our obligations under copyright law. Uploading in Moodle copyright protected documents (including journal articles, book chapters, and, of course, full books) is not permitted. The proper, and legal, way to share copyrighted materials with the students is ONLY by linking those materials to the library catalog or to the database that provides access to the resource itself. Instructions on how to link resources from the library catalog are available in the Posting Materials on Moodle section.
- Open Access and Creative Commons: Whenever possible, consider using open-access resources or materials licensed under Creative Commons for your Moodle courses, as they often come with more flexible usage rights. However, take some time to review the specific license terms even in these cases to ensure compliance.
- Video Screenings: Only resources available in the library can be screened in the classroom. Using commercial video streaming platforms (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.) is not permitted as their licenses only allow for personal use. The newly acquired video streaming platform Kanopy can be used in the classroom because the license allows for this type of use.
- Images: For educational purposes, high quality images can be projected in the classroom. However, high quality images cannot be shared with the students. Only low quality images can be shared and the students should be directed to the original source for accessing the images.
Support and Guidance
If you have questions or concerns about copyright issues when sharing materials on Moodle, the library staff is here to provide guidance and support. Please refer your questions and concerns to me and to the Reference and Instruction Librarians.
If, when linking to the library catalog, you notice that the library does not have a resource that you need, please get in touch with acquisitions@johncabot.edu, so we can discuss our options.
