Copyright is confusing. Sometimes it is acceptable to make multiple
copies of an item for your students; sometimes it is not. This page
will attempt to explain the basics of copyright and guide you to
reliable information.
Note: This page is informational only and should
not be construed as legal advice. |
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Copyright
& Public Domain |
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Any “original work” that is “fixed in a tangible
medium” is protected by copyright. This includes books, journals,
videos, and music recordings, as well as lecture notes, emails,
unpublished papers, and Internet graphics. This also includes out
of print materials.
Items do not have to display the © sign to be protected.
Some items fall in the public domain and have no copyright protection.
These include most items published before 1923, most U.S. government
publications, and items specifically marked with notices such as
“This work may be freely reproduced.” |
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Fair
Use |
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Copyright does not forbid all copying. The law has established
the concept of fair use in order to “promote the progress
of science and useful arts” (U.S. Const. art. I, § 8).
This is the wording of the law: “… the fair use of
a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies
… for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting,
teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship,
or research, is not an infringement of copyright” (17 U.S.C.
§ 107). |
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Fair Use Tests
There is no simple test to determine whether your copying
of an item constitutes fair use. Decisions must be made case by
case.
The law sets forth four factors. For each use, you must consider
all the factors and weigh them against each other:
- 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;
- 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 for or value
of the copyrighted work. (17 U.S.C. § 107)
These factors can be reworded as questions:
- Is the use non-profit and educational, or is it for profit?
- Is the work in question fact-based (news, data) or imaginative
(fiction, poetry)?
- How much of the work are you using?
- What effect will your use have on the copyright owner’s
money-making?
For each item, you must weigh the four factors against each other.
In general, educational use weighs heavily in favor of fair use.
Use of a fact-based work is more likely to be fair use, as is use
of a small portion of a work.
Weighing the four factors can be very confusing, since there is
no clear rule. Look at each factor, then make a judgment based on
your overall understanding of the use. |
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Classroom Guidelines
In 1976, Congress published four Classroom Guidelines, although it
did not include these in the language of the statute:
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Brevity
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Spontaneity
-
Cumulative effect
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Copyright notice
See Agreement
on Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not-for-Profit Educational
Institutions with Respect to Books and Periodicals for more
detailed explanations. |
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Permissions
Uses that exceed fair use (for instance, electronically scanning an
entire book or copying the same chapter semester after semester) require
the permission of the copyright holder. |
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Resources |
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©
Primer
University of Maryland University College
http://www-apps.umuc.edu/primer/ |
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Copyright
American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm |
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Copyright
basics
U.S. Copyright Office
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html |
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Copyright
essentials for librarians and educators
Kenneth D. Crews
LIBRARY STACKS KF2995 .C74 2000 |
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Law
of copyright
Margaret C. Jasper
LIBRARY STACKS KF2995 .J37 2000 |
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Questions
& answers on copyright for the campus community
National Association of College Stores & other organizations
http://www.nacs.org/public/copyright/ |
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Fair Use |
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Checklist for fair use
Indiana
University Purdue University Indianapolis
http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm |
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Copyright
& fair use
Stanford University Libraries
http://fairuse.stanford.edu/ |
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Copyright
assumptions and challenges
James Hilton
http://www.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/erm0163.pdf |
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Fair
use analysis worksheet
University of Rochester
http://www.lib.rochester.edu/copyright/wksheet.htm |
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Public Domain |
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When
U.S. works pass into the public domain
Lolly Gasaway
http://www.unc.edu/~unclng/public-d.htm |
