How copyright licences are helping teachers in the classroom

How copyright licences are helping teachers in the classroom

When finances are limited, as they are in most schools, teachers often rely on technology to copy and share the materials they need to support teaching and learning. But how do you ensure that the person who created the work you’re using gets paid for your use of their work?

The New Zealand Copyright Act allows teachers to provide students with copies of up to 50% of a poem, or up to 3% or 3 pages from a “work” (such as a textbook). It is difficult to see how schools could operate without exceeding these limits. So how do schools stay on the right side of the law while making the copies they need? That’s where the annual licences come in. Copyright Licenses enable access well beyond what is permitted by the Copyright Act. For example, a school’s CLNZ print licence means that when a teacher runs a class poetry clinic, they can provide copies of a poem in its entirety to students to help them understand types of poems and inspire them to write their own work. And when the school wants to perform or play music during assemblies their OneMusic licence means they can do this, without needing to seek permission. Taking up a Screenrights Television and Radio Licence lets schools record whatever they like from television and radio.

As copyright conscious schools across New Zealand Get Licensed this term, they ensure their teaching staff can access the print, music and audio visual content they need to plan creative lessons and help students learn. At the same time, income received from licence fees is rightfully paid to the owners of the teaching materials that licensed schools use in their classrooms.

Copyright Licensing New Zealand, OneMusic and Screenrights are continuing to collaborate to make school licensing – and teachers’ access to resources – easier. This is now the fourth year the three agencies have worked together to offer pick and mix licensing solutions to help schools understand which licences best match their school’s usage of copyright material.

ENDS

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