Copyright

There's no one answer as to what constitutes "fair use" of a particular copyrighted work. The answer varies from situation to situation, and only a court can make a definitive decision.

Four factors are considered in all fair use evaluations:

• Purpose and character of the use (educational or commercial)

• Nature of the work (factual or creative)

• Amount/substantiality of the work (how much of the total work and is it the "heart" of the work?)

• Impact on market (financial loss to copyright holder)

These four factors are not meant to be exclusive and must be examined jointly.

Under the “fair use” rule of copyright law, a person may make limited use of another author’s work without asking permission.

Important Notice:  Use of copyrighted materials for papers, theses, classroom presentations and other academic purposes does not mean that use is automatically fair use.  Permission may still be required.  

Here are some general Fair Use guidelines for research/teaching.

How much can I use?

• A single chapter from a book
• A single article from a newspaper
• A short story, essay, or poem from an individual work.
• A chart, diagram, graph, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, journal, magazine, or newspaper.

Best practice for distributing copies:

• Copies should not substitute for the purchase of books, journals, and etc.
• Always credit the source.
• Provide a copyright notice on the first page of the copied material (possible wording: "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States.")
• Provide only one copy per student.

Best practice for Internet sources:

• Always credit the source, include a link or url.
• If you are using information on a webpage, obtain permission to upload materials or simply link to the site.

Specific Sources for Educators and Librarians:

•       Reproduction of Copyrighted Works: https://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf

For additional Fair Use information, check these sites.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video