The purpose of this guide is to provide faculty, staff, and students at Coastal Carolina Community College with an understanding of COPYRIGHT LAW and FAIR USE. While copyright issues can be complex, everyone needs to understand the basics. Failure to comply with copyright law can lead to substantial legal penalties to the user and the college. Please take the time to review these credible resources on copyright.
Due to the complexities of copyright it is extremely difficult to create one resource or policy that addresses all situations. Generally speaking, however, you should ask yourself the following questions:
Once you have identified the materials you want to use and determined that copyright permission is required, you must identify the copyright holder and secure permission to use their work. A good explanation of the steps for securing permission for copyrighted works can be found on Columbia University’s Copyright Advisory Office website: http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/permissions/. This site provides direction for obtaining permission for many different types of materials. The site also provides several permission request templates that faculty can use when seeking permission from copyright right holders.
Journal Article for Classroom Use
SCENARIO 1: An instructor copies one article from a periodical for distribution to the class.
FAIR USE? Yes. Distribution of multiple copies for classroom use is fair use. However, the repeated use of a copyrighted
work, from term-to-term, requires more scrutiny in a fair use evaluation. Repeated use, as well as a large class size, may weigh against fair use.
Posting Copyrighted Article to Web Page
SCENARIO 2: An instructor has posted his class notes on a web page available to the public. He wants to scan an article from a copyrighted journal and add it to his web page.
FAIR USE? No, if access is open to the public, then this use is probably not a fair use. No exclusively educational purpose can be guaranteed by putting the article on the web, and such conduct would arguably violate the copyright holder's right of public distribution. If access to the web page is restricted, then it is more likely to be fair use.
Coursepacks
SCENARIO 3: An instructor copies excerpts of documents, including copyrighted text books and journals, from various sources. The instructor plans to distribute the materials to his class as a coursepack.
FAIR USE? Generally speaking, you need to obtain permission before reproducing copyrighted materials for an academic coursepack. It's the instructor's obligation to obtain clearance for materials used in class. Instructors typically delegate this task to one of the following: clearance services, university bookstores or copy shops, or Department administration.
Textbooks
SCENARIO 4: An instructor wishes to use a textbook he considers to be too expensive. He makes copies of the book for the class.
FAIR USE? No. Although the use is educational, the instructor is using the entire work, and by providing copies of the entire book to his students, he has affected the market. This conduct clearly interferes with the marketing monopoly of the copyright owner. The instructor should place a copy on reserve or require the students to purchase the book.
SCENARIO 5: An instructor decides to make three copies of a textbook and place them on reserve in the library for the class.
FAIR USE? No. This conduct still interferes with the marketing monopoly of the copyright owner. The instructor may place a copy of the textbook, not the copies, on reserve.
Public Domain Materials
SCENARIO 6: A teacher copies a Shakespearian play from a copyrighted anthology.
FAIR USE? Yes. The play is in the public domain and not subject to copyright protection.
Showing a Videotape for Classroom Instruction
SCENARIO 7: A teacher wishes to show a copyrighted motion picture to her class for instructional purposes.
FAIR USE? Yes, since it is for classroom instruction and no admission fee is charged. Tuition and course fees do not constitute admission fees.
Copying a Videotape for Classroom Instruction
SCENARIO 8: A teacher makes a copy of the videotape described in SCENARIO 7 for a colleague to show in her class at the same time.
FAIR USE? No. The teacher may lend her personal copy of the videotape to a colleague for this purpose.
Renting a Videotape That Is in the Public Domain for Non-classroom Use
SCENARIO 9: An instructor wishes to raise funds for a scholarship. She rents a videocassette of a motion picture on which the copyright has expired and charges admission fees.
FAIR USE? Yes. The copyright of the motion picture has expired, which places the motion picture in the public domain.
Renting a Videotape That Is Copyright-Protected for Non-classroom Use
SCENARIO 10: The facts are the same as those in SCENARIO 7 except that the movie is protected by copyright.
FAIR USE? No, because it infringes the copyright owner's right to market the work.
Classroom Presentation
SCENARIO 11: A teacher or student prepares and gives a presentation that displays photographs. Permission was not obtained to use the photographs.
FAIR USE? Yes. The copyright fair use provision explicitly provides for classroom use of copyrighted material. Instructors and students may perform and display their own educational projects or presentations for instruction.
Electronic Transmission or Broadcast of Classroom Presentation
What if the presentation incorporating the photographs discussed in SCENARIO 11 is broadcast to a distant classroom?
FAIR USE? Yes. This use would be considered fair use, as long as the presentation is broadcast for remote instruction.
Broadcast of Classroom Presentation to Home or Office
What if the presentation discussed in SCENARIO 11 is broadcast to students at their homes or offices?
FAIR USE? Yes. This use would be considered fair use if the individuals are enrolled in a course and viewing the presentation for purposes of criticism, comment, teaching or instruction, scholarship, or research.
Videotaping of Classroom Presentation
What if the teacher's or student's presentation explained in SCENARIO 11 is videotaped?
FAIR USE? Yes. This use would be considered fair use, if the videotape is used for educational purposes such as student review or if the videotape is for instruction.
Broadcast of Videotaped Classroom Presentation
What if the SCENARIO 11 presentation incorporating the photographs is videotaped and rebroadcast? Is this a fair use?
FAIR USE? Yes. The use of the photographs is fair use as long as the presentation is videotaped and rebroadcast only for instruction.
Incorporation of Photographs in an Electronic Presentation (Excluding the Internet)
What if the SCENARIO 11 presentation is included in an electronic presentation such as Microsoft's Power Point?
FAIR USE? Yes. This should be considered fair use as long as the electronic presentation is for educational or instructional use.
Making Changes to Photographs
What if the student or teacher were to change the attributes of the pictures discussed in SCENARIO 11?
FAIR USE? Yes. This would be considered fair use for education, comment, criticism, or parody. One must inform the audience that changes were made to the photographer's copyrighted work.
Use of Copyrighted Music
SCENARIO 12: A teacher or student creates a presentation and incorporates copyrighted music into the background. Assume that permission was not obtained to use the music for the presentation.Can the music be included in the teacher's or student's initial presentation?
FAIR USE? Yes. This is fair use if instruction is occurring.
Use of Music in Videotaped Classroom Presentation
What if the teacher's or student's presentation described in SCENARIO 12 is videotaped?
FAIR USE? Yes. This is fair use if instruction is occurring.
Use of Music in Broadcast of Videotaped Classroom Presentation
What if the SCENARIO 12 presentation is videotaped and rebroadcast?
FAIR USE? The answer is not clear. If instruction is occurring and there are no admission charges to the rebroadcast, the presumption is that it may be fair use. Tuition and course fees do not constitute admission fees.
Use of Music in an Electronic Presentation (Excluding the Internet)
What if the SCENARIO 12 presentation is included in an electronic presentation (excluding the Internet)?
FAIR USE? Yes. This is fair use if instruction is occurring.
Use of Music as Content in a Classroom Presentation
SCENARIO 13: An instructor teaches an opera course, and the instructor creates a presentation. The presentation contains the works of ten contemporary artists and is presented to a new class every semester.
FAIR USE? Yes, as long as the use of the presentation continues to be for instruction.
Use of Music in Classroom Presentations on the Internet
The opera classroom presentation (SCENARIO 13) or the presentation containing background music (SCENARIO 12) is placed on the Internet?
FAIR USE? Yes, so long as access is restricted, e.g., by use of a password or PIN or other means.
This information is credited to the University Library, California State University
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