Before uploading any content to Edpuzzle that could be protected by intellectual property rights, please make sure that you’re authorized to do so. EDPUZZLE HAS A ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY FOR COPYRIGHT VIOLATIONS and may terminate any user's access to the service without notice for such infringements as explained in our Terms of Service.
In this article, you'll find the following sections:
II. The Limits of Copyright Protection: Fair Use
IV. How to Report Copyright Infringement
What is copyright?
Copyright can be defined as a person's exclusive right to reproduce, publish or sell his or her original work of authorship, such as a literary, musical, dramatic, artistic, audiovisual or architectural work. It is important that such works are creative and available in a tangible form (i.e. stories written on paper or original paintings on canvas), whether published or unpublished, since no protection is granted to concepts, facts, ideas or processes.
In order to protect the time, effort and creativity of the work's creator, copyright law gives creators certain exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce and distribute the work, to issue "derivative works" (i.e. other works based on the original work) and to perform or display the work publicly, among others. Likewise, the copyright owner also has the right to authorize others (or not) to exercise those rights.
The Limits of Copyright Protection: Fair Use
Fair use is a legal doctrine that allows individuals to use a portion of copyrighted material without the need to obtain explicit permission from the original copyright owner. Each country has its own laws, and fair use applicability may vary.
In the United States, for example, works used for teaching purposes may be covered by fair use. Courts will determine whether there is fair use depending on the circumstances of each case. Therefore, IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEEK LEGAL ADVICE BEFORE UPLOADING ANY POTENTIALLY COPYRIGHTED CONTENT TO THE INTERNET.
In the United States, judges will look for the following four elements in determining whether fair use applies:
- Purpose or character of the use. Courts will determine whether the use is transformative or not, questioning whether your work adds a new meaning to the original, or if it’s simply a copy. A judge will also examine whether the content you created was made for commercial or educational use, the latter being more likely to be considered fair use than content made for commercial or for-profit purposes.
- Nature of the copyright-protected content. Usage of content based on facts has a greater chance of being covered by fair use than purely fictional works. Still, the "nature of the work" is the least significant part of the fair use doctrine and courts normally place a smaller emphasis on it compared to the other three factors.
- Amount of copyrighted content used. Borrowing smaller pieces from the original work is more likely to be considered fair use than using it in its entirety. Nevertheless, if the smaller portions of the work you use are considered the "heart" of the original work, fair use will most likely not apply.
- Impact of the use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work. If your content will have a negative effect on revenue or views from the original work, it will likely not be covered by fair use. Additionally, your content should not occupy the same market targeted by the original creator.
Uploading Copyright-Protected Content to Edpuzzle and Best Practices to Avoid Violating Fair Use
Many creators believe that by simply including phrases in their credits like "no infringement intended" or "credit to the original owner", fair use automatically applies. This is far from reality.
Before uploading any content that may be protected by copyright as described in the previous sections (i.e. a book you’ve scanned) to Edpuzzle, make sure you have the right to do so, either because fair use applies or because you obtained explicit permission from the author.
How can you ensure that the content you upload to Edpuzzle doesn’t violate copyright?
- Be original. Use your creativity to produce an entirely new, original video instead of simply copying what others have created.
- Refrain from making any profit off of content you do not own or do not have the right to share.
- Limit the amount of copyrighted material you add to your content. Instead, try recording and uploading your own videos or use the videos that your coworkers and fellow Edpuzzle teachers have shared.
- Empathize. If you choose to use someone else's protected work, put yourself in their situation and empathize. If you realize that your work is so similar to the original that it would steal views or revenue from the original owner, you should refrain from uploading your content.
How to Report Copyright Infringement
Our policy per our Terms of Service is to respond to notifications of alleged copyright infringement according to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and the Directive (EU) 2019/790 on Copyright and Related Rights in the Digital Single Market. If your copyright-protected work was posted on Edpuzzle without authorization, you may submit a copyright infringement notification. The fastest and simplest way to submit a copyright takedown notice is through the form attached to this article, which you will have to fill out, sign and email to us at copyright@edpuzzle.com.
As the owner of intellectual property rights, be sure to consider whether fair use, fair dealing or a similar exception to copyright applies before you submit. These requests should only be sent in by the copyright owner or an agent authorized to act on the owner's behalf.
Copyright & YouTube
Edpuzzle streams videos from YouTube using their embed APIs, which means that we (you included) are in compliance with YouTube's terms of service. If a video is removed from YouTube for copyright infringement, it will also automatically be removed from Edpuzzle.
If we receive a copyright takedown notice from the original work's creator and we realize that the video has been embedded on Edpuzzle using YouTube's embed APIs, we will not only remove the content from our platform, but also advise creators to submit a copyright takedown notice to YouTube. If as a copyright owner you find yourself in this situation, please follow the following instructions provided by YouTube.
Questions? You can find the contact information for our copyright agent here or email our support team at support@edpuzzle.com.