Copy of Copyright & Fair Use

Multiple copies can be made (one per student) to use in a classroom contexts as long as the following are considered:

Brevity.  Either a complete article, story, or essay of 2,500 words or less (3-8 pages) or an excerpt of any prose work of 1 chapter or 10%.  

Spontaneity.  The material is something you found spontaneously, that perfect article for the lesson coming up in two days.  The inspiration for use and the moment of use are so close in time, that one would not be able to obtain permission.  

Cumulative Effect.  Copies must be for only one course in the school where copies are made.  Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.  Also, no more than nine instances of this type of copying during one course. 

Copyright notices are printed on each copy. 

17 U.S.C. § 110(1) permits “the performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction….”

The showing is private, not public. If the film is shown to a small number of people, access is restricted (as in only to class members), and there are not public invitations to the showing, it can be considered private.

The work is performed in the course of teaching activities of non-profit educational institutions. A film can be show as part of a course or teaching activity (eg: discussion group or lecture.)

For public performances, permission must be granted from the copyright holder.  The library may have already purchased the performance license of a particular video you wish to show on campus.  Check with us.  One time licenses may also be granted through companies like Swank Motion Pictures.   

Instructional materials may be posted to a course website or a LMS (Blackboard or Canvas) under any of the following circumstances:

The instructor is the copyright owner.  Generally, instructors own the copyrights to any original course materials they have created.  In the case of published works in scholarly journals, read your contracts carefully to determine whether or not you may post your article under the agreement.  

Linking to databases and the web.  Linking to content that is freely available on the web generally carries no concern about copyright infringement.  When linking to content through our subscription databases, make sure you get the permalink rather than the session link.  Use that on your website or Blackboard site, and have students link to the article themselves.

You have permission from the rights-holder. Permission can be obtained in a variety of ways, depending on the particular material you want to use.  Some materials carry Creative Commons licenses, and the authors simply seek attribution.  Copyright Clearance Center is a great place to start if you are seeking permission to use text-based works.  

The work is in the Public Domain. These works are always free to use without concern about copyright infringement.