Copyright

All dissertations submitted for degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University will be sent to ProQuest for microfilming and for publication of the abstract in “Dissertation Abstracts International.” This publication is considered the authoritative source for concise summaries of current graduate research. ProQuest will have the exclusive right to reproduce and distribute dissertations in and from microform, the nonexclusive right to reproduce and distribute dissertations in and from an electronic format, and the nonexclusive right to reproduce and distribute the abstract in any format in whole or in part. These rights do not prevent authors from granting other publishing rights.

Publication rights are reserved to the author, subject to the provisions of research contracts, patent agreements, or other similar agreements made by the author with the thesis or dissertation director, the university, the funding agency or other involved parties. University members shall retain all rights relating to publication, preparation of derivative works, distribution and classroom use of works which they have prepared on their own initiative, including both papers published in scholarly journals or books, theses and dissertations, provided the university does not possess rights of ownership as described below.

Registering copyright with ProQuest simply provides a standing in court should the author choose to sue for unauthorized use of the work. That’s the only protection of the additional $65 fee. It is recommended for works with marketable (i.e. profitable) products such as surveys, formula, models and original art.

Copyright protects the author’s work and is advised for dissertations. ProQuest will act as the author’s agent with the Library of Congress Copyright Office. The copyright fee includes application in the author’s name, submission of the application fee and required deposit copies of the work at the Library of Congress. Authors receive a certificate of copyright registration from the copyright office three to four months after the abstract appears in “Dissertation Abstracts International.”

Authors will receive ProQuest’s author prices on all copies of their work. If sales of an author’s work equal seven or more copies in one calendar year, authors receive a 10 percent royalty on total sales for that year. Payments are made annually. Authors are advised to keep a current address on file with ProQuest so royalty payments can be made promptly. Information on the number and format of sales will be indicated on the check stub. ProQuest is unable to identify individuals who purchase works from them.

Use of copyrighted material

By signing the ProQuest Agreement Form, authors certify that any previously copyrighted material used in their work beyond “fair use” is with the written permission of the copyright owner and that ProQuest will not be held responsible for any damages that may arise from copyright violations. Copies of permission letters from copyright owners must be attached to the ProQuest Agreement Form. The permission letters must state that the copyright owner is aware that ProQuest may supply single copies on demand. If permissions are not supplied, copyrighted materials will not be filmed.

The Fair Use Statute is found in the United States Code, Title 17, Section 107. It states that the fair use of a copyrighted work, including reproduction of it, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work is fair use, the factors to be considered include: 1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; 2) the nature of the copyrighted work; 3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and 4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. The fact that a work is unpublished does not limit fair use.

For an excellent overview of copyright issues as they pertain to research view, “Copyright Law & Graduate Research: New Media, New Rights, and Your New Dissertation” by Kenneth D. Crews of Indiana State University.