The Definition of Fair
Use
The Definition of
Copyright Laws
Copyright &
Fair Use
Laws
According to Stanford (2010), “a
fair use is any copying of
copyrighted material done for a
limited and “transformative”
purpose, such as to comment
upon, criticize, or parody a
copyrighted work. Such uses
can be done without the
permission of the copyright
owner” (para. 1). Starr (2010)
says the fair use doctrine was
created to allow for the above
uses as well as “news reporting,
research and scholarship, and
classroom instruction.” (para. 4)
This does not give instructors
and students free reign to use
any material as long as it is for
educational purposes. The best
rule to go by according to Starr
(2010) is, “when in doubt,
assume a work is copyrighted
and get permission” (para. 2).
Starr (2010) says, “copyright law
states that the owner of any
tangible creative work has the
sole right to reproduce,
distribute, perform, display,
transmit or transform that
work” (para. 4). Starr (2010)
also states “Copyright,
according to Dictionary.com (as
cited in Starr, 2010, para. 9) ,is
the legal right granted to an
author, a composer, a
playwright, a publisher or a
distributor to exclusive
publication, production, sale or
distribution of a literary,
musical, dramatic or artistic
work.” Work cannot be
copyrighted unless it is tangible
and creative.
In Educational
Settings
� �
Know how to follow
copyright and fair use laws
Written by Name RemovedWritten by Name RemovedWritten by Name RemovedWritten by Name Removed
National UniversityNational UniversityNational UniversityNational University
October 19, 2012October 19, 2012October 19, 2012October 19, 2012
What
information
can I use in my
classroom?
Is this
material
copyrighted?
What’s Fair Use?
What Teachers and Students are Allowed to Use Under Fair Use Laws
Teachers may use:
• A chapter from a book.
• An article from a periodical or a
newspaper.
• A short story, essay or poem. One
work only.
• A chart, graph, diagram, drawing,
cartoon or picture from a book,
periodical or newspaper.
• Poems 250 words or less or 250 words
from a longer poem.
• Copies of an article, story or essay that
are 2,500 words or less or excerpts
that are 1,000 words or less or 10% of
the work, whichever is less.
• Motion media; up to 10% or 3 minutes,
whichever is less.
• Music, lyrics or music video; up to 10%
but no more than 30 seconds of
music or lyrics.
• Illustrations, or photographs; 5 or less
images from on artist, 10% or 15
images, whichever is less, from one
collection.
Students may use:
• Portions of copyrighted materials, for a
project for a specific course.
• Projects with portions of copyrighted
materials for portfolios, job interviews,
or applying to graduate school.
This list is summarized from (UMUC, 2012,
para. 20,28,31).
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