Copyright and Plagiarism

RTC Copyright Policy

                                                                           RTC Procedure

                                                                           22022

                                                                           7/19/94

                                                                           Attachment 2

Photocopying of Copyrighted Materials

Current copyright laws permit non-profit educational institutions to photocopy copyrighted materials under certain limited conditions:

The decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness must be so close in time that it would be unreasonable to  expect a timely reply to  a request to photocopy.

1. The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.

2. Not more than one short poem, article  story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, ore more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.

3. There shall not be more than nine (9) instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

4. The same teacher cannot copy the same item without permission from term to term.

5. Unauthorized copying may not substitute for the purchase of books, publisher's reprints or periodicals.

6. The original copyright notice must appear on all copies of the work. 

Permission to copy any material not fitting the above description must be obtained from the publisher's Copyright and Permissions Department prior to photocopying the work.  The earlier you request permission, the better, in case it cannot be granted and you need to substitute other materials.  Attach a copy of the permission from the publisher to the requires for photocopying.  The print shop staff assistant will not copy any materials which do not meet the above guidelines unless permission is attached.

REMEMBER: WHEN IN DOUBT, REQUEST PERMISSION.  

The following are useful copyright links:

• Copyright Basics - what it is, who can claim it, and how long it lasts - from the U.S. Copyright Office
• Copyright Information for Educators and Librarians (Circular 21) from the U.S. Copyright Office
• A Visit to Copyright Bay - A graphic explanation of what constitute fair use of material by educators.
• When Works Pass into the Public Domain from Lolly Gasaway at the University of North Carolina
• Educational Media Copyright Issue
• Laura Staley's Copyright For Educators Handouts

RTC Plagiarism Policy

Renton Technical College expressly forbids students to turn in plagiarized work. From the Renton Technical College Student Handbook;

“Any student who submits an assignment or other work to an instructor and falsely represents it as his/her own is guilty of academic dishonesty and is subject to discipline.”   (RTC 21009.02, 9/99, Attachment 2, Page 6) 

The following are useful plagiarism links:

• Larry Ferlazo's The Best Online Sites to Teach About Plagiarism has excellent resources for class or individual use.

• Preventing and Detecting Plagiarism - Offers clues and tools for detecting and confirming plagiarism.

• DocCop - Check up to 150 words of a suspect document for free.  You do need to register, but this site doesn't retain the materials in it's database, and does not claim copyright on them, unlike some of the other plagiarism sites.  

• Cut-and-Paste Plagiarism: Preventing, Detecting and Tracking Online Plagiarism.

• Paul Robeson Library  videos on plagiarism. Consider showing these in class.  They offer three short, useful videos on plagiarism.   Video one is on the definition of plagiarism, Video two shows the process of deciding what needs a supporting citation, and Video three offers a quick quiz on the first two points.  All three videos take less than ten minutes to watch.

Remember, you can always refer students to these resources for help with their citations:  Noodlebib (on the RTC Library database page), or   Purdue University's OWL APA and MLA help pages, or Highline Community College's APA and MLA guides.

Last updated: 09/5/12