How
do I know if I need to clear copyright?
If
you are a faculty member seeking to use copyrighted
work in one of your classes, here is what you
should know:
- Copying
materials shall not substitute for the purchase
of books, publisher's reprints or periodicals.
- Copying
shall not be directed by higher authority.
- Copying
shall not be repeated with respect to the same
item by the same teacher from term to term.
- No
charge may be made to the student beyond the
actual cost of the photocopying.
If
none of the above are true,
then ask yourself the following questions:
Q:
Am I compiling articles from several authors
and placing them in the Bookstore for sale to
students in my class? If your answer is "yes,"
you are creating an anthology and you must
seek permission for each article included.
Q:
Am I copying from a "consumable"
such as a standardized test, workbook, answer
sheet, etc.? If
your answer is "yes," you must seek
permission to copy these works.
Q:
Will you be using the same copyrighted materials
next semester? If your answer is "yes,"
then you must seek permission to use these works.
You must seek permission for each semester that
you use them.
Q:
If
I am making multiple copies to hand out in class,
do I meet the four Fair Use Guidelines (outlined
below)? If you meet the Fair Use Guidelines,
and you've answered "no" to the questions
above, you do not need to seek permission to hand
out materials in class. However, if you do not meet
the Guidelines, then permission from the copyright
holder is required before you may distribute materials
in class. All four Guidelines are equally important
when determining whether you need to seek permission
to use copyrighted works.
FAIR
USE GUIDELINES
(1)
What is the character of the use? Is it commercial
use? Non-profit use? Educational use? Typically,
educational and non-profit use are acceptable;
commercial use is not acceptable.
You
meet this guideline if you are using materials
for non-profit and/or education.
(2)
What is the nature of the copyrighted work to
be used? Is it factual and/or published work?
Or is it imaginitive and/or unpublished work?
Using published works of a factual nature is
usually acceptable (provided that you've met
guideline #1 above). It is harder to claim Fair
Use for works that are unpublished or that are
more imaginitive and creative in nature.
You
meet this guideline if you are using printed
(published) material, particularly if the material
is mainly factual.
(3)
How much of the work will you use? What is the
amount and substantiality of the portion of the
work used in relation to the copyrighted work
as a whole? In general, using small portions of
a work is acceptable, while using large portions,
or using a work in its entirety is not acceptable
without permission from the copyright holder.
There
are different standards for poetry, prose, illustrations,
and certain "special" works that combine
language and illustrations.
You
meet this guideline if you are only using a small
portion of the copyrighted work. Because of the
first two Guidelines, you may be able to use a
larger portion of a copyrighted work if it is
published, factual, or if it will be used for
educational purposes. Conversely, the amount of
a copyrighted work you may use without permission
may be reduced if it is unpublished, imaginitive
in nature, or if it will be used for commercial
purposes.
(4)
What will be the effect of the use in question
upon the potential market for or value of the
copyrighted work? Will your use of the copyrighted
work take away sales revenue from the copyright
holder? Will putting unauthorized copies of
this work into circulation take away from the
market value of the original work?
In
most cases, if you've met the first three Guidelines,
and you do not plan to use the materials next
semester, then you are in compliance with the
fourth Guideline. Using small portions of published,
factual works for educational purposes is not
likely have a heavy market impact.
However,
this may depend greatly on your method of distributing
copyright materials to your class. Handing out
a small number of printed copies to the students
in your class weighs in favor of Fair Use. On
the other hand, posting copyrighted materials
on a web page will probably not count as fair
use because the potential audience is so large.
The larger the audience, the greater the impact
on the market value of the copyrighted work.
