Copyright Issues Related to Podcasting

When creating a podcast, it's important to make sure all necessary rights and permissions are secured for the material you're using. If you have created all of the material included in your podcast, this is relatively straightforward, but the more you include material (audio, video, text...) created by other people, the more complex it becomes.

The most complete guide to legal issues for podcasters is "Podcasting Legal Guide: Rules for the Revolution" from the good people at Creative Commons.

Another useful resource is "Legal issues in podcasting the traditional classroom," a two-part presentation from the HigherEdBlogCon.

Some quick tips:

There are cases in which permission is not required:

Using a fact, an idea, a theory or slogan, title or short phrase
Using works that are in the public domain
Using a U.S. Government work
Using Creative Commons-Licensed or "Podsafe" Content

If none of those pertain, you may want to test to see if your proposed use is a "fair use." To determine if it is, you need to consider the following four criteria for educational fair use:

The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
The nature of the copyrighted work -- is it fiction? non-fiction?;
The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
The effect of the use upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work

This Fair Use Analysis tool from the University of Minnesota may help clarify these factors.

Copyrighting your podcasts

In addition to thinking about others' copyright, you should also think about your own copyrights. You may want to register your podcast through the Creative Commons organization or the United States Copyright Office.

The Creative Commons is a nonprofit group that offers licenses that protect the rights of the owner of original works while encouraging some uses of them by others.
Registering a Sound Recording, from the United States Copyright Office.

Other resources:
The Library has created a list of useful copyright links. Copyright can be confusing. If you have questions, please ask.