Scholarly Communication: Fair Use
"A Fair(y) Use Tale"
From Professor Eric Faden of Bucknell University and the Media Education Foundation, this humorous and informative video uses fairy tale characters to explain the principles of fair use.
Fair Use Resources
- Stanford University Library's Copyright & Fair Use OverviewA comprehensive guide to copyright and fair use that includes general information on copyright and fair use in educational settings, key legal decisions, and answers to frequently asked questions.
- "Free Culture" by Lawrence LessigProponent of "free culture," Lawrence Lessig, advocates for more liberal copyright and fair use laws in light of the Internet era in this eBook.
- Crash Course in Copyright's "Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials"A practical guide to fair use of materials, given current copyright laws.
- Fair Use at Stanford Law SchoolThe Stanford Center for Internet and Society's "Fair Use Project" ("the FUP") was founded in 2006 to provide legal support to a range of projects designed to clarify, and extend, the boundaries of "fair use" in order to enhance creative freedom.
- Fair Use | Center for Social MediaPartnering with the Washington College of Law, the Center for Social Media offers resources and tools for better understanding and using fair use rights.
- Fair Use and Fairness on CampusThis paper from the North Carolina Journal of Law and Technology, Vol. 11, Spring 2010 edition, demonstrates why fair use is so critical to higher education.
- Distance Education and the TEACH ActThe TEACH Act redefines the terms and conditions by which accredited, nonprofit educational institutions may use copyright protected materials in distance education--including on websites and by other digital means--without permission from the copyright owner and without payment of royalties.
- Fair Use in the Electronic AgeA document from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) outlining the lawful uses of copyrighted works in the electronic environment.
- "Copyright and Fair Use for Faculty"From UMass's OIT Academic Computing department.
- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication``Helps U.S. communication scholars to interpret the copyright doctrine of fair use... It is a general right that applies even in situations where the law provides no specific authorization for the use in question.''
Fair Use Tools
- Fair Use EvaluatorHelps to understand and determine fair use and provides a record-keeping function for evaluation and justification.
About Fair Use
Fair use is undoubtedly one of the most controversial issues in scholarly communication today. An offshoot of copyright law, "fair use" is generally understood to be the lawful use of copyrighted materials by non-copyright holders for the following purposes:
- criticism
- comment
- news reporting
- teaching
- scholarship
- research
Within these general purposes, US Copyright law further identifies four standards by which to judge whether a particular type of use is fair:
- the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
- the nature of the copyrighted work;
- amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
- the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work (Copyright.gov, 2006).
Fair use of materials in the public domain
Materials that are part of the public domain are free to use without restriction. However, you should consult Stanford University Library's Copyright and Fair Use Overview's chapter on Public Domain works to be sure that other restrictions resulting from trademarks and derivations of public domain works do not affect your usage. See also this chart from the Cornell Copyright Information Center that shows what works are in the public domain as of January 1, 2010.
Fair use and teaching
The Association of Research Libraries has created several guides to help you understand your "copyrights" as an educator:
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Complete brochure -- full-color edition -- an in-depth guide to your rights and responsibilities when using both your own and others' materials for classroom instruction: [16.4 MB PDF] or [336 KB “zipped” PDF]
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One-page “What You Can Do” chart--a quick reference sheet to your rights and responsibilities when using both your own and others' materials for classroom instruction: [120 KB PDF]
For more information, visit http://www.knowyourcopyrights.org.