Copyright and Fair Use
The purpose of this overview is to give CHS teachers, staff and administrators a quick reference when planning to make print copies through the production center or by using individual copy machines in buildings throughout the district. The guidelines link below also provides additional information for compliance with other types of sources. It is not comprehensive, nor meant as legal advice, but more to begin an understanding of copyright and good faith fair use.
General guidelines for teachers and students can be found here.
The Concord School District purchases an annual umbrella license for the use of movies. See Mrs. Dugan for more information on terms and conditions.
Brief Overview of Copyright and Fair Use:
What is copyright? According to the Library of Congress, copyright refers to the author's (creators of all sorts such as writers, photographers, artists, film producers, composers, and programmers) exclusive right to reproduce, prepare derivative works, distribute copies, and publicly perform and display their works. These rights may be transferred or assigned in whole or in part in writing by the author. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, work created by an employee is usually owned by the employer. The U.S. Copyright Act gets its authority from Article 1, Section 8, cl. 8 of the U.S. Constitution and Title 17 of the US Code.
What is fair use? Fair use is an exception to the exclusive protection of copyright under American law. It permits certain limited uses without permission from the author or owner. Depending on the circumstances, copying may be considered "fair" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research.
Fair use for schools applies to non-profit educational settings for the purposes of instruction in a face to face classroom setting based on a legally obtained copy.
Four conditions are considered when determining fair use:
According to Linda Starr, writing in Education World:
When evaluating a particular use of copyrighted materials in relation to these four factors, you should ask yourself the following questions regarding:
1. the purpose and character of the use
Does the new work transform the original work or offer something beyond the original? Copyrighted works that are altered significantly are more likely to be considered fair use.
Is the use for non-profit, educational purposes? Works used for face to face instruction, research, critical analysis or review are more likely to be considered fair use.
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
Is the work published or unpublished? Published works are more likely to be considered fair use.
Is the work out of print? Out of print works are more likely to be considered fair use. However, this does not apply to individual student workbooks.
Is the work informative/factual or creative? Informative/factual works are more likely to be considered fair use.
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used of the copyrighted work in relation to the the whole
Is the amount of the work used reasonable? The smaller the amount used the more likely to be considered fair use.
Is the section of the work used the most important part of the work? Even if a small amount of the work is being used but it goes to the 'heart of the matter' it may not be fair use.
4. the effect of the use on the potential market
Is the original work being used with the same target audience? If its a different audience its more likely to be fair use. Also the standard for judging fair use and the impact on the market isn't just "what if one teacher uses the material" its "what if everyone did" what the one teacher is doing with the material.