SJU Drexel Library Copyright Policy & Guide: Introduction and Fair Use

Introduction

The librarians at Francis A. Drexel Library at Saint Joseph's University have compiled this copyright guide to assist students, faculty, and staff in understanding and complying with current United States Copyright laws and provisions. This is not a static guide, but will be updated as copyright laws and interpretations change. The information provided here should serve as a general guideline regarding copyright issues and should not be taken as legal advice. Each library patron is ultimately responsible for ensuring that his or her use of authored materials does not exceed the scope of fair use as defined by United States copyright law. Library patrons who are not in compliance with the following copyright policy and/or federal copyright law shall assume any resulting liability.

This is not a legal document, and should not be construed as legal advice.

Patrons are authorized to photocopy copyrighted library materials under the following conditions:

(1) The patron has obtained a license or written permission from the copyright owner,

(2) The material being copied falls under fair-use guidelines (see Fair Use Checklist), or

(3) An exemption in the copyright law exists for the material being copied.

Copyrighted materials are not required by law to bear the copyright symbol ( © ). In addition, an author's work does not need to be published in order to be copyrighted. United States copyright law provides protection to "original works of authorship fixed in any tangible medium of expression, now known or later developed, from which they can be perceived, reproduced, or otherwise communicated, either directly or with the aid of a machine or device"(17 U.S.C., sec.102). This includes literary works, musical works (including any accompanying words), dramatic works (including any accompanying music), pantomimes and choreographic works, pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works, motion pictures and other audiovisual works, sound recordings, and architectural works.

If you have questions regarding copyright law that are not answered in this guide, or if you would like general clarification of copyright restrictions, please refer to the following web sites for the specific text of United States copyright legislation:

Digital Millennium Copyright Act (H.R.2281)

Current and/or Pending Copyright Legislation

The Library of Congress, United States Copyright Office

Fair Use

The "Fair Use" doctrine (17 U.S.C., sec.107) stipulates that:

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include-

(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

Fair use is a difficult concept to understand, and the four guidelines listed above are intended to provide assistance in determining whether or not a particular use of a copyrighted work is permissible. If you are not sure whether or not your use of a work exceeds these guidelines, it is best to seek permission from the author.

Kenneth Crews, Director of the Copyright Management Center at Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis, has developed a Checklist for Fair Use, which has been included in this guide.

Many people assume that as long as the work being copied is not intended for sale, the use of the copyrighted material is legal. This is not necessarily true. If significant portions of an author's work are copied without his or her permission, you are affecting the market value of that author's work and you will be held liable for copyright infringement.

Another mistaken assumption is that electronic formats of copyrighted works are not subject to copyright law. Copyright law applies to electronic formats as well as print materials. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act was written to update the law in relation to electronic information. Faculty and students are not permitted to post electronic versions of copyrighted materials on a web site or electronic bulletin board unless permission is secured from the author of the original work.

Fair Use Checklist

The Copyright Management Center at Indiana University has created an excellent guide to determine if a particular use of copyrighted material is considered “Fair Use”: