Fair
Use
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Fair use in teaching and research
The 1976
Copyright Act provides important exceptions to the rights of
the copyright holder that are specifically aimed at nonprofit educational
uses of copyrighted works and libraries. Two provisions of the copyright
statute are of particular importance to teachers and researchers:
- a provision that codifies the doctrine of "fair
use," under which limited copying of copyrighted works without
the permission of the owner is allowed for certain teaching and
research purposes; and
- provision that establishes special exemptions
for the reproduction of copyrighted works by libraries and archives.
The "fair use" doctrine embodied in the Fair-Use
Statute Section 107 of the 1976 Copyright Act, allows reproduction
and other uses of copyrighted works under certain conditions for purposes
such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple
copies for classroom use), scholarship or research for educational
and research purposes. For more information on fair use, see the Office
of Technology Transfer's guide to Using
Copyrighted Works of Others.
Four factors of fair use
Fair-use
Statute Section 107 lists the following factors as the ones
to be evaluated in determining whether a particular use of a copyrighted
work is a permitted fair use:
- the purpose and character of the use, including
whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit
educational purposes -- uses in nonprofit educational institutions
are more likely to be fair use than works used for commercial
purposes, but not all educational uses are fair use.
- the nature of the copyrighted work -- reproducing
a factual work is more likely to be fair use than a creative work
such as a musical composition
- the amount and significance of the portion
used in relation to the entire work -- reproducing smaller portions
of a work is more likely to be fair use than large or essentials
portions
- the impact of the use upon the potential market
for or value of the copyrighted work -- uses which have no or
little market impact are more likely to be fair than those that
interfere with potential markets.
The fair use law is purposefully broad and
flexible. It requires a thoughtful analysis of each of the four factors
based on specific circumstances. In applying the four fair use factors,
each factor is relevant in order to determine whether a particular
use is a fair use. A final determination on fair use depends
on weighing and balancing all four factors against the facts of an
individual situation. UC faculty, staff, and students are encouraged
to make decisions about a contemplated fair use of copyrighted works
in an informed and reasonable manner in order to meet educational
and research objectives. For more information on applying the four
factors of fair use, see Fair
use tools. If it is unclear whether a particular use is permitted
under fair use, you should consider obtaining
permission to use the work from the copyright owner.
UC policies on photocopying and off-air recording
The University of California has two policies that
provide guidance as to whether photocopying and recordings of television
broadcasts are within the "fair use" doctrine. The Policy
and Guidelines on the Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials for
Educational Purposes addresses the appropriate use of photocopied
materials in the classroom and for research.
The Policy
for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes
provides explicit guidance for recording television broadcasts,
including retention, duplication, and extended use considerations.
If photocopying or off-air recording activities are not within these
two Guidelines, you shoud use caution and discretion in such copying
or recording. All fair use guidelines should be considered minimum
standards. Thus, just because a use is not within these guidelines,
it is not necessarily outside the scope of fair use. If a proposed
use falls outside the limits of these two guidelines, you should
analyze the particular facts of your situation against the four
factors of fair use in order to conclude that the copyright
activity is permitted. If it is unclear whether a particular use
is permitted under fair use or if it significantly deviates from
the guidelines above, you should consider obtaining
permission to use the work from the copyright owner.
Guidelines on the use and limitations of fair use
With the adoption of the 1976 Copyright Act, representatives
of author-publisher and educational organizations developed a set
of guidelines that establish the minimum, but not necessarily the
maximum, standards of fair use for photocopying of copyrighted work
for use in the classroom. These standards were not incorporated
into the Act and have not been formally adopted through court decisions,
so they do not have the weight of law. Higher educational institutions
thought the copying guidelines were not permissive enough. The University
of California's Policy
and Guidelines on the Reproduction of Copyrighted Materials for
Educational Purposes is more permissive than the guidelines
formally developed by the author-publisher and educational institutions.
There are no guidelines for fair use of copyrighted
materials that one proposes to use outside the context of the classroom.
Therefore, the four factors of fair use need to
be evaluated, and, if necessary, a campus OTT
Copyright Contact may be consulted for assistance in determining
whether the contemplated use may be fair. The OTT Copyright Contact
may not, however, provide advice to persons about fair use where
the use will be personal.
Guidelines referenced in UC Policy:
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Additional Fair Use Resources
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