Copyright for Librarians

Below is a checklist that will help you determine whether your use of a work might be protected under the concept of fair use. This checklist will provide you with a record of your decision-making process. It is recommended that the completed checklist be retained as evidence of your fair use analysis. It should be noted that Section 504 (c)(2) of the Copyright Act of 1976 offers legal protection to educators and librarians who have used copyrighted material based upon a good-faith analysis of the fair use factors.

I. What is the purpose of the use?

II. What is the nature of the copyrighted work?

III. What is the amount or substantiality of the item used?

IV. What effect will the use have on the potential market for the work?

Adapted from Central Michigan University's Copyright Web Guide, Cornell University’s Checklist for Conducting a Fair Use Analysis Before Using Copyrighted Materials, and North Carolina State University’s Fair Use Checklist.

Under the “fair use” rule of copyright law, a person may make limited use of another author’s work without asking permission. As noted in the Fair Use Checklist box:

"There's no one right answer as to what constitutes a 'fair use' of a particular copyrighted work. The answer varies from situation to situation."

Here are some suggested guidelines for both photocopying and ECN at Walsh University:

Print Materials:

• One to two chapters from a book (5-10% of work for in print; 10-20% of work for out of print)
• One to two articles from a journal issue or newspaper
• A short story, essay, or poem from an individual work.
• A single chart, diagram, graph, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, journal, magazine, or newspaper

Distributing Copies

• Copies made should not substitute for the purchase of books, journals, etc.
• Provide only one copy per student.
• Copying the works for subsequent semesters requires copyright permission from the publisher.

Using Materials Found on the Internet

• Always credit the source
• If you are using the information on your personal webpage ask permission or simply link to the site
• If you receive permission to use the material keep a copy for your records

Using Multimedia

Multimedia works are created by combining copyrighted elements such as movies, music, sounds, graphics, and text. It is recommended that you use only small portions of other people's works.

Suggested limits:

• Movies: Up to 10% or about three-five minutes, whichever is less
• Text: Up to 10% or 1,000 words, whichever is less (The limits on poetry are more restrictive.)
• Music: Up to 10% of an individual copyrighted musical composition. 10% of a copyrighted musical composition on a sound recording. However, no more than 30 seconds may be used without gaining permission from the copyright owner and/or publisher.
• Photos and Illustrations: Based on the below guidelines, "a photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety, but no more than five images by one artist or photographer may be incorporated into any one multimedia program. From a published collective work, not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, may be used."

CONFU Recommendations allow you to use small portions of multimedia works without obtaining copyright permissions.

CONFU guidelines clarify the application of fair use of copyrighted works in the digital educational environment. CONFU guidelines are particularly useful for educators and students who are working on educationally-related projects like video podcasting, multimedia projects utilizing sound and videos, etc.

Based on CONFU guidelines, educators and students needn't get copyright permissions if they make a good faith effort to adhere to these suggested limits:

• Motion Media: Up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever is less, in the aggregate of a copyrighted motion media work may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of a multimedia project created under Section 2 of these guidelines.
   
• Text Material: Up to 10% or 1000 words, whichever is less, in the aggregate of a copyrighted work consisting of text material may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as part of a multimedia project created under Section 2 of these guidelines. An entire poem of less than 250 words may be used, but no more than three poems by one poet, or five poems by different poets from any anthology may be used. For poems of greater length, 250 words may be used but no more than three excerpts by a poet, or five excerpts by different poets from a single anthology may be used.
   
• Music, Lyrics, and Music Video: Up to 10%, but in no event more than 30 seconds, of the music and lyrics from an individual musical work (or in the aggregate of extracts from an individual work), whether the musical work is embodied in copies, or audio or audiovisual works, may be reproduced or otherwise incorporated as a part of a multimedia project created under Section 2. Any alterations to a musical work shall not change the basic melody or the fundamental character of the work.

Note: Multimedia projects that are educationally-related are only valid for a duration of two years from the date of creation. After the two year period has expired the content can no longer be displayed.Also, courts are not bound by these guidelines and the Copyright Act contains no such standards. Opinions will vary.