Copyright & Fair Use
Legal use of copyrighted materials is a very important consideration for educators. Whether you want to share an article with your students, provide a "course pack" of assorted materials as a textbook replacement, use an OER Textbook, or need quality images for a PowerPoint presentation, the question of what's acceptable use can be confusing. See the table below to help you determine how to integrate various materials into your course.
FAQ
Is the work in the Public Domain?
- No permission needed: works in the public domain may be copied and distributed without permission of the creator/owner.
- Most works older than 1923 are in the public domain, and some later works as well. See Public Domain Sherpa for help determining if a work is in the public domain.
- Most works produced by the U.S. government are in the public domain. Assume a government document to be in the public domain unless it contains a copyright notice.
- Attribute the original source in any posted or distributed copies.
Is the work open licensed?
- Permission already granted: works with a Creative Commons or other open license will be labeled with the specifics of what type of use is allowed.
- The most common, "CC-BY", means that the work can be copied, edited, and distributed without permission of the creator/owner, requiring only that you attribute the original author.
- Guide to Creative Commons licensing
- Attribute the original source in any posted or distributed copies.
Is the work online?
- Permission or licensing is needed if copying. However, you may link to it instead of copying it. No permission from the copyright holder is needed if linking. (The only exception is if the work specifically states this isn't allowed).
- This applies to works on free websites (for example, a YouTube video or a blog post), as well as works already licensed to the college through Library subscription databases, such as journal articles or eBooks.
Does your intended use of the work fall under "fair use"?
- Fair use is a doctrine of U.S. copyright law which gives exceptions to certain uses of copyrighted materials, which would otherwise by copyright infringement.
- To determine if fair use applies to your use, the four fair use factors must be applied. See Copyright.gov for more information on the four factors of fair use.
- Attribute the original source in any posted or distributed copies.
Asking for permission
- If it's not possible to link to a licensed or free copy of the work, and if fair use doesn't apply, you can contact the copyright holder for permission.
- The University of California has an excellent guide on requesting permissions and identifying the copyright owner of a work, with sample permission letters. If you receive permission from the copyright holder, keep a copy in your files.
- Attribute the original source in any posted or distributed copies.
Paying copyright holder for use
- If it's not possible to link to a licensed or free copy of the work, and if fair use doesn't apply, you can also purchase the right to copy, distribute, display, or perform a work. This is usually done through a licensing agent.
- Contact the Library for assistance in obtaining licensing permission for the works you want to distribute to students.
Adapted from: "Open Textbooks, OER & Other Open or Free Resources for Faculty: Copyright & Fair Use." Kirkwood Community College.
