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Copyright and Fair Use

Table of Contents

  • What is Fair Use?
  • What determines Fair Use?
  • Fair Use in Academia
  • Tools to Help you Determine Fair Use
  • Teach Act & Course Management Systems
  

What is Fair Use?

Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder. (See Title 17, section 107)

What Determines Fair Use?

The following four factors are used to determine if a use is fair:

  1. The purpose of the use (eg. commercial vs. educational)*
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work
  3. The amount of the material used (the greater the amount copied, the less likely it is fair use)
  4. The effect of use on the potential market for or value of the work

* Not all uses in an academic context are automatically considered fair use!

Fair Use in Academia

The Fair Use Doctrine is probably the most important exemption to copyright protections for educational settings, allowing many uses of copyrighted works for the purposes of teaching and research. The complexity of fair use and its importance in academia make it imperative that every member of NNU understands how to make judgments concerning fair use.

Review these Common Scenarios to help you determine whether or not fair use is appropriate.

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) has recently published (January 2012) the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries.

The TEACH Act and Course Management Systems

​The TEACH Act was put into place to update copyright laws so that they are applicable in the digital environment. The TEACH act does not replace copyright law but is an extension of that law.

These resources will help you learn more about copyright in online education: