Copyright and Fair Use Guidelines for Teachers Copyright Basics for Teachers

What is Copyright?  “A copyright is a property right attached to an original work of art or literature. It grants the author or creator exclusive rights to reproduce, distribute, adapt, perform, or display the protected work”— A Teacher’s Guide to Fair Use and Copyright: Modeling Honesty and Resourcefulness (1997).

What is Fair Use?  Fair use allows use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes: teaching, research, comment, criticism, news reporting

How is Fair Use determined?  Purpose of use: It is fair to copy and use selected portions of copyrighted materials for specific educational purposes; especially if those copies are made spontaneously and for temporary use.  Nature of the work: copying and distributing factual information that benefits the public is less questionable than copying from novels and plays.  Amount and substantiality of the portion taken: Fair Use is copying excerpts that are short in relation to the entire copyrighted work; the less you take the better you can justify use.  The effect of the use upon potential market: surely you don’t wish to deprive the owner of the copyrighted work from profiting from his work. Uses which have little or no market impact are more likely to be fair than those that interfere with potential markets—University of California.

Questions you need to ask before using any copyrighted materials for educational purposes The Question If the answer is “No!” If the answer is “Yes!” 1. Will I be using the creator’s work/expressions word for word? The work then maybe used. If the answer is “yes,” or “maybe,” go to second question. 2. Is the expression protected by copyright? Then the work maybe used. If the answer is “yes” or “maybe,” go to the third and last question. 3. Will the work/expression go beyond fair use? Then the work maybe used. If the answer is “yes,” and the application falls within one of the exceptions listed for fair use, then the material/work may be used.

Teachers may make multiple copies for classroom use of the following:  Poem less than 250 words  Articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words  10% of work or 1,000 words (whichever is less).  One chart, picture, diagram, graph, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue  Two pages (max) from an illustrated work less than 2,500 words

Teachers may make a single copy for teacher use for lesson plan preparation of the following:  A chapter from a book  An article from a periodical  Short story, short essay, or short poem  Chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, picture from a book, periodical or newspaper

Videotapes (purchased), Videotapes (rented), DVD, CD  Teachers may use these materials in the classroom without restrictions of length, percentage, or multiple use  The material must legitimately be acquired and must be used in a classroom or similar place “dedicated to face-to-face instruction.”  These materials must not be used for entertainment or reward.

Motion Media & Music  Film and videotape productions:  Single copy of up to 3 minutes or 10% of the whole, whichever is less  Spontaneity required  Sheet music, songs, lyrics, operas, musical scores, CDs, disk, or cassette taped recordings: Single copy of up to 10% of a musical composition in print, sound, or multimedia form.

For more information Copyright Basics--The Video Website: Copyright.com URL: UC Berkley Copyright Resources Website: Technology at Berkley URL: A Teacher’s Guide to Fair Use and Copyright Website: Cathy Newsome URL:

References  Newsome, Cathy. (1997). A teacher’s guide to fair use and copyright: Modeling honesty and resourcefulness. Retrieved March 2009, from  University of California Copyright. (2006). General information about copyright and fair use. Available: wnership.html wnership.html wnership.html