Fair Use for Teachers

Contrary to popular belief, Copyright law is not merely a tool to help people make money.  Originally “it gives copyright holders a set of exclusive rights for a limited time period as an incentive to create works that ultimately enrich society as a whole.” (Fair Use FAQ, n.d.)  It protects the original content creator, but it is also meant to improve the culture of people as a whole.  As a result there are some ways to use copyrighted content legally.  These ways are generally referred to as Fair-Use.

Fair use can be separated into four different areas.

1. What is the purpose of your copyrighted work?
2. What is the nature of your copyrighted work?
3. How much of the work are you going to use?
4. Will you harm the market for this product by using the material?

(Wright, n.d.)

These four elements form a sort of test.  The first element is the purpose.  If it is intended as a comment, criticism or parody it may be allowed. The second element is the nature of the original work.  If the work is fact-based then your chances of fair use go up, if the work is creative in nature then your chances of fair use go down.  The third element is how much you are going to use.  If you copy and paste most of the original work then this is a problem, if you choose only the heart of the work this is also a problem, but if you only use a very minor part of the whole you may be safe. The final element deals with harming the original creator’s ability to make money with the product.  If the reuse you undertake will harm the original author’s ability to make money this is a no go!

As you can see there is very little cut and dry in the Fair Use provisions of Copyright law.  “Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.” (Fair Use, 2012)  This is the original text of the law, and if the original spirit of the law is adhered to, then the conscientious educator should not have big problems using copyrighted works for educational purposes.  But care should be taken to understand the law and one should always consider the four areas listed above as a sort of basic test, or use this test.  If your use passes the test then proceed with caution.

Electronic Frontier Foundation (n.d.). Fair Use Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved from http://www.teachingcopyright.org/

U.S. Copyright Office (2012). Fair Use. Retrieved from http://www.copyright.gov/

Wright, Vivian (n.d.). Fair Use Simply Explained. Retrieved from http://www.thecopyrightsite.org/