Your Copying Rights Under Copyright Law

Using the "Fair Use" Doctrine

In practice, librarians and educators attempting to understand and apply the Fair Use Doctrine are more likely to refer to a document entitled "Agreement of Guidelines for Classroom Copying in Not for Profit Educational Institutions" (hereinafter referred to as the "Classroom Guidelines").  The Classroom Guidelines use the concepts of brevity, spontaneity and cumulative effect to illustrate what may or may not be a fair use.  They were developed by the Ad Hoc Committee of Educational Institutions and Organizations on Copyright Law Revision, the Authors League of America, Inc., and the Association of American Publishers, and were made part of the Congressional Record to the Copyright Law.  They were intended to state the minimum standards of education fair use under Section 107.  The Classroom Guidelines may be useful because they set forth numerical limits.  For example, the Classroom Guidelines state it is acceptable to make multiple copies of a complete poem for classroom use if the poem is less than 250 words, and if it is printed on not more than two pages.   The Classroom Guidelines have been incorporated as part of the CUA  under the section entitled "Safe Harbor Guidelines."

 

Adherence to the Classroom Guidelines is a limited substitute for reading and understanding the fair use section of the copyright law.  "There is no specific number of words, lines or notes that may safely be taken without permission."²  While following the Classroom Guidelines may evidence a copier’s "good faith" to comply with the copyright law, undue reliance on the Classroom Guidelines may restrict an educator’s ability to take full advantage of the Fair Use Doctrine.

Each time an original work is copied, the copier should perform a reasoned analysis of the action using the four factors enumerated in the copyright law.  If a claim of copyright infringement is made, it is that reasoned analysis which must be articulated as a defense.  The Questions and Answers section that follows tries to show how the four factors should be used in analyzing whether or not duplication of materials will be considered a fair use.

 

²U.S. Copyright Office Web page, Frequently Asked Questions





links updated 6/5/08 rab