District Copyright and Web Publishing

Rules for School Web Sites

Copyright law and district policy do not allow the re-publishing of text or graphics found on the Web on district Web sites or file servers without explicit written permission.

1. For each re-publishing (on a Web site or file server) of a graphic or a text file which was produced externally, there must be a notice at the bottom of the page crediting the original producer and noting how and when permission was granted. In many cases, that notice should also include the URL (Web address) of the original source.
2. Students and staff engaged in producing Web pages must provide library media specialists with e-mail or hard copy permissions to file before the Web pages are actually published. Click here for the form letter. In the case of "public domain" documents, printed evidence must be provided to document the status of the materials.
3. The failure of a site to display a copyright notice may not be interpreted as permission to copy the materials. Only the copyright owner may provide the permission. If the materials have been improperly and illegally displayed by a Web site, the manager of that Web site may not be considered a source of permission.
4. The "fair use" rules governing student reports in classrooms are less stringent and permit limited use of graphics and text.
5. Student work may only be published if there is written permission from both parent and student.

Staff members and students with questions regarding these guidelines are advised to check with the library media specialist in their building before proceeding with the collection of images and text.

Schools and non-profit organizations may copy and make use of these materials within their own school districts or may republish the pages on their Web sites provided that a clear notice of source is included on the Web page.

Internet Copyright Resources
for Further Study

Bellingham School District Copyright Compliance Policy & Administrative Procedures

Copyright Law in Cyberspace
An excellent discussion of the protections afforded by copyright law to writers and visual artists displaying work on the Web. From the University of Texas.

THE COPYRIGHT WEB SITE
An extensive collection of articles and resources exploring copyright issues.

THE STANFORD COPYRIGHT & FAIR USE SITE

A comprehensive offering of articles and resources exploring copyright issues.

Warning: There are many who would like to see information and graphics on the Web all treated like "public domain" possesions, available for the taking and the republishing. Some of the essays and resources below represent the arguments for that point of view. Others take a much more stringent approach to interpretating the copyright law as it should be applied to Web publishing. The collection is offered here to provide a balanced representation of the arguments, but the rules posted above are the guidelines which must be followed in this school district. The district does not take responsibility for the contents of outside sites listed here and does not by their listing endorse the points of view represented at any particular site.