Case+55+-+Web+Design+&+Fair+Use

Mr. Aziz teaches a web design course in which his students are assigned a project to create a web site for a company they fabricate. Several students choose to create websites for E-commerce. To obtain content for their sites the students turn to Google images as well as live sites such as footlocker.com and nba.com. Utilizing the images from these sites, the students create their own sites to sell items such as men’s and woman’s athletic gear. If the students were to cite each image on the finished project, the overall look of their websites would be compromised. Mr. Aziz has discussed, prior to the assignment, the significance of copyrights and requires the students to compile a site specification document in which they outline all sources used in building their websites. Mr. Aziz still wonders if posting the students finished projects on the school website would violate copyright laws. Additionally, to abide by the rights of the image owners Mr. Aziz posts this disclaimer on the page displaying his students’ work; “ [|*Disclaimer: The company names, logos and products featured on the student websites are registered & trademarked respectively. HCST and our students claim no affiliation or sale of such products pictured herein and is done so for educational purposes only.]” In accordance with fair use, Mr. Aziz and his students are exempt from legal implications for the following reasons: (1) “The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes” – The project culminates on the lessons of the web design course in which students demonstrate their technology skills, aligned with the NJCCCS, to create a website that incorporate the elements of a web page such as links, tables, forms, etc. The use of images could not be considered copyright infringement because they are used for nonprofit educational purposes. (2) “The nature of the copyrighted work;” – is usually for the promotion and sale of items belonging to the copyright. The students of the web design class use the copyrighted images to create a web document for educational assessment; the students assume no monetary gain or copyright credits. (3) “The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole…” – The rubric for the assignment clearly states that students are only allowed to use images for their sites. Descriptions, pricing and other pertinent information shall not be copied; additionally students are required to utilize multiple sources when creating their sites. Direct replication of live sites result in a failing grade and school policies for plagiarism is enforced. (4) “The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.” – Students using the copyrighted works of referenced sites take no value away from the potential market and might even add to the value of such. Promoting newly released items for sale through the replication for educational purposes adds to the value of the digital images students use. After reviewing the US copyright law: Fair Use (U.S. Code, Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 107), it is assumed that the use of copyrighted materials by students for educational purposes would be considered fair use.
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