Copyright for Educators

Copyright & Public Domain

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.

Copyright & Public Domain

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 This includes books, journals, videos, and music recordings, as well as lecture notes, emails, unpublished papers, and Internet graphics.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.”

Fair Use

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).

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:

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. (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.

Classroom Guidelines
In 1976, Congress published four Classroom Guidelines, although it did not include these in the language of the statute:

• Brevity

• Spontaneity

• Cumulative effect

• 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.

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.

Resources

© Primer
University of Maryland University College
http://www-apps.umuc.edu/primer/

Copyright
American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/ala/washoff/WOissues/copyrightb/copyright.htm

Copyright basics
U.S. Copyright Office
http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ1.html

Copyright essentials for librarians and educators
Kenneth D. Crews
LIBRARY STACKS KF2995 .C74 2000

Law of copyright
Margaret C. Jasper
LIBRARY STACKS KF2995 .J37 2000

Questions & answers on copyright for the campus community
National Association of College Stores & other organizations
http://www.nacs.org/public/copyright/

Fair Use

Checklist for fair use
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis
http://www.copyright.iupui.edu/checklist.htm

Public Domain