MERLOT Acceptable Use Policy

1.0 Introduction

This Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) is intended to aid any and all MERLOT users (registered or not) in understanding how the contents found in MERLOT may be used. All users of MERLOT must comply with this AUP, the purpose of which is to encourage the reuse of MERLOT materials while also helping  to protect MERLOT participants and members of the MERLOT community from illegal or irresponsible activities.

Violation of this AUP may result in:

• The suspension and/or termination of access to MERLOT services and features and/or
• MERLOT's notification to the violator's home institution of the abuse of MERLOT's services or features and/or
• Other actions deemed appropriate by MERLOT.

This AUP should be read in conjunction with the MERLOT Research Policy.

2.0 Acceptable Use

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. MERLOT is built on the collaboration of its partners, community members, registered members, and users. In that spirit, MERLOT allows access to its site and the materials therein for personal and non-commercial uses as set forth in this policy.  Links to online learning materials are catalogued in MERLOT, along with other items such as peer reviews and assignments. MERLOT is committed to improving the effectiveness of teaching and learning by expanding access to high quality teaching and learning materials that can be easily incorporated into faculty-designed courses.

By using MERLOT, you agree to the terms of MERLOT’S AUP and promise to use any content found on the MERLOT website, whether in whole or in part, for personal, non-commercial, and educational purposes only as described in this policy. You also agree to comply with prevailing United States laws regarding copyright and the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998.

3.0 Violations of Acceptable Use

The following constitute violations of this AUP:

• Providing services for a fee using MERLOT materials or those materials found on the MERLOT website, with exceptions noted in this policy.
• Sending unsolicited commercial e-mail or bulk-mail to MERLOT registered members or using a MERLOT email or website address to distribute commercial email.
• Sending large volumes of unsolicited email or bulk-mail for commercial or non-commercial purposes to MERLOT members, based on collection from the MERLOT website, of MERLOT member data.
• Using MERLOT services to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.
• Using MERLOT services or products to make fraudulent offers to buy or sell items or services found at MERLOT.
• Accessing and using MERLOT member profiles or collecting personal data from MERLOT's registered members without proper authorization.
• Reselling MERLOT products, services, features, or site contents without MERLOT's written permission.

4.0 Creative Commons and MERLOT Intellectual Property

MERLOT recognizes the effort and commitment of the many different kinds of MERLOT community members who participate in building and sustaining the repository and services that comprise MERLOT.  To protect the membership and its contributions to the community, MERLOT has adopted the intellectual property (IP) protection policies of the consortium, Creative Commons (http://creativecommons.org)  to 1) encourage creators of online materials to share their work with others who might wish to reuse the materials in creative ways, and 2) ensure that contributions of online materials by MERLOT members to the MERLOT community are protected from misuse and abuse.

** To better understand Creative Commons and MERLOT's position on the topic, listen to a presentation on the topic at http://www.screencast.com/t/8Mv2QWuded.  This presentation was given at the 2008 TechEd conference by Managing Director, Dr. Sorel Reisman **

For Frequently Asked Questions(FAQ) about Creative Commons, visit http://wiki.creativecommons.org/FAQ.

4.1 MERLOT Creative Commons License Policy

The following definitions are important within this policy with regard to outlining the expectations of individuals and institutions associated with MERLOT.

• MERLOT Partners - individuals or institutions that have a specific relationship with MERLOT defined by Letters of Commitment, Memoranda of Understanding, or via jointly funded grants or proposals. These entities will adopt and abide by this AUP.
• MERLOT Community Members - individuals or institutions that choose to contribute to the MERLOT website. These entities will adopt and abide by this MERLOT AUP.
• MERLOT Users - individuals that choose to use the MERLOT website. These entities will adopt and abide by this MERLOT AUP.

Intellectual property on the MERLOT website has been divided into two categories; i) Partners Only – some (but not all) available only to MERLOT partners, and ii) MERLOT Members - available to the general MERLOT community. These are shown in Tables 1 and 2 below.  Partner-only materials require written permission from MERLOT for reuse.  After receiving such permission, the materials fall under the Creative Commons conditions described in Table 1.

Materials shown in Table 2 are freely available to all MERLOT members under the Creative Commons licenses shown, and as such, require no prior permission for use as long as the terms of the Creative Commons license are adhered to.

In general, this policy requires users 1) to always attribute the creator of the intellectual property (Attribution) and; 2) not permit the IP to be used for commercial purposes (Non Commercial) and; 3) either restrict users from modifying the IP (No Derivative) or allow them to modify it for their own environments and circumstances (Derivative).  All three conditions must be met.

Table 2 indicates that intellectual property created by MERLOT Members continues to be owned by those Members.  MERLOT makes no claim to that IP.  However, because MERLOT is a nonprofit organization that encourages the reuse of learning materials for creative online teaching and learning, MERLOT endeavors to promote best practice use of its members’ IP in non-commercial environments by other creative users of the IP, while always requiring attribution of the work to the IP creator. For this reason, MERLOT requires submissions of the TYPES of content shown in Table 2, to fall under the Creative Commons license, by-nc-sa – Attribution, Non Commercial, Derivative, Share-Alike. This requirement does not imply that the materials themselves, where ever they are hosted, must fall under a Creative Commons license.. 

However, there is IP on the MERLOT website that MERLOT wishes others to be able cite, not use in commercial endeavors, and not modify (No Derivative) when cited, but to be attributed verbatim when reused.  The two IP types of that nature are Peer Reviews and Member Comments about learning materials found in MERLOT.  These fall under the Creative license  by-nc-nd.

4.2 Author-Owned Creative Commons License Designation

MERLOT believes that Owners of materials referenced on the MEROT website but hosted on non-MERLOT servers are entitled to declare how their property may be used by others.  Author-Owners of MERLOT reference materials are urged to select from Table 2, the license most appropriate to their preferred use of online materials. The Creative Commons’ site http://creativecommons.org/license/ contains an interactive tool that enables authors to select the license they desire.  Because MERLOT encourages the reusability of learning materials, MERLOT recommends that authors select the least restrictive Creative Commons license for their work, in order to ensure the most widespread adoption possible.  Whether or not an author wishes to specify commercial considerations can depend on factors independent of MERLOT.

Table 1:  MERLOT Partners-Only Intellectual Property

Table 2:  Creative Commons Licenses for MERLOT Website-resident Content

5.0 Use of Learning Materials by All Users

Users of learning materials (see tables above) found by MERLOT Community Members and Users at the MERLOT site, whether in print or not, beyond that specified in the Fair Use guidelines issued by the US Copyright Office, must have the explicit permission and/or licensing from the author of those materials.

There are many sources of information regarding Fair Use guidelines and the TEACH Act, outlines how materials may be used for educational purposes. For example, see:

• The TEACH Act Finally Becomes Law
• Slow Start for Long-Awaited Easing of Copyright Restriction

MERLOT has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor and edit or remove any activity or contribution that violates fair use or the TEACH Act. MERLOT takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any contribution made by the user or a third party.

5.1 Giving Credit and Copyright Notice
A statement such as the following must appear with all material attributed from MERLOT publications or from the MERLOT website: "Reproduced with permission from MERLOT - the Multimedia Resource for Learning Online and Teaching (http://www.merlot.org). All rights reserved."

5.2 Exclusions
Permission does not extend to items within the site that are reprinted by permission of other publishers and copyright holders. You must obtain separate permissions for these items. It is the responsibility of the user to obtain these permissions; however, MERLOT can provide contact information for these items upon request.

5.3 Links and Framing
All links to MERLOT pages must make clear that the content belongs to MERLOT. Similarly, MERLOT content may not be framed unless it is clear that the content is hosted by MERLOT and the URLs of the framed MERLOT pages are displayed.

5.4 Online Teaching and Learning
Materials reproduced for teaching and learning purposes are subject to the same restrictions as other permission requests - see information about Fair Use and the TEACH Act above.

5.5 Commercial Use
MERLOT materials and services may be used for commercial purposes by obtaining a license for use from MERLOT. Contact the MERLOT webmaster (webmaster@merlot.org) for more information.

5.6 Scholarly and Academic Works
Authors of scholarly works and those conducting research associated with MERLOT must follow MERLOT’s Creative Commons licensing policies  and the fair use principles for excerpts from the MERLOT website and publications. Appropriate citations are required.

5.7 Personal Use
MERLOT website materials may not be posted, published, transmitted, reproduced, distributed or in any way used to exploit MERLOT for commercial purposes or use them in any manner inconsistent with this policy.

6.0 User Obligations

6.1 Abide by Applicable Laws

In connection with the use of MERLOT, you are required to abide by all applicable federal, state or local laws, including those pertaining to such areas as libel, slander, defamation, trade libel, product disparagement, harassment, invasion of privacy, tort, obscenity, indecency, and copyright or trademark infringement.

6.2 Online Communications

You are cautioned that any online communications may not be fully confidential. You should also be aware that federal postal regulations do not protect electronic mail. Also be aware that as a part of their regular duties, MERLOT personnel may access your personal profile, and/or communications for technical or operational purposes. MERLOT may also disclose any information discovered through such access to the extent permitted or required by law.

6.3 Content of Information

You are responsible for any information or materials you place on the MERLOT site. MERLOT has no obligation to, and does not in the normal course of business, monitor or control any material that is or becomes available in MERLOT. MERLOT reserves the right to review any material that is or becomes available on the site. MERLOT reserves the right to refuse to post or to remove any materials that are, in our judgment, unacceptable, undesirable or in violation of this policy.

However, MERLOT has no obligation to exercise such reservation of rights. MERLOT will, in appropriate circumstances, terminate the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. MERLOT may terminate access for content providers or service participants who are found to repeatedly provide material without necessary rights or permissions.

If you believe that your work has been used or copied in a way that violoates this AUP, or constitutes copyright infringement, please notify MERLOT in writing as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. For MERLOT to act on your notice, you must be authorized to enforce the copyrights that you allege have been infringed. When informing MERLOT of an alleged infringement:

• Identify the copyrighted work that allegedly has been infringed. If multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are involved, please provide a representative list of such works on the site.
• Describe the material that is claimed to be infringing and provide sufficient information to permit MERLOT to locate that material.
• Include your contact information: your name, e-mail address, telephone number, and mailing address.
• Certify or include a statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the copyright-protected material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, the owner's agent, or law.
• Certify that the information that you have provided MERLOT is accurate. Attest under penalty of perjury that you are authorized to enforce the copyrights that you allege have been infringed.
• Include your physical or electronic signature.

Without the information listed above, MERLOT may not be able to act on your complaint promptly or at all.

7.0 Requesting Copyright or Other Material Usage Permission

Send a written request to Copyright Permission Via email to webmaster@merlot.org with "MERLOT Materials Reuse Permission" in the subject line.

Your request should include:

• The URL of the webpage(s) or identifying citation of the source of the material you wish to use.
• The purpose for which you wish to use the material.
• The number of copies of the material that you wish to make.

In order to be processed, requests must contain complete information including the name of the person/organization wishing to use the material, title, phone number, email address, and mailing address.

8.0 Policy Enforcement

If you know or have reason to believe that there has been a violation of this AUP, please contact the MERLOT Webmaster at webmaster@merlot.org. Please provide as much information as possible such as:

• The date and time of the alleged violation.
• Evidence of the alleged violation.
• Name, IP address, or URL of alleged violator.

The absence of such information may render MERLOT unable to act upon your report of violation.

9.0 Modifications

This policy may be modified by MERLOT and such modifications will be binding to all registered members of MERLOT, when published on the MERLOT website.

Questions or comments regarding this policy should be sent to webmaster@merlot.org.

Revised June 2, 2008