Palmer College of Chiropractic

David D. Palmer
Health Sciences Library

Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright and Fair Use considerations for course readings

Course readings will be managed in accordance with the Fair Use Guidelines Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright law. The law lists four factors as criteria if a particular use can be considered fair use under Section 107. Instructors should confirm these factors for each item to be used as a course reading.

Four Fair Use Factors

The following factors specified by the Copyright Compliance Center must be used in combination not individually when evaluating materials.

• The purpose and character of use- When evaluating the purpose and character of use, courts typically favor non-profit educational institutions using the item for teaching and research purposes over commercial ones. There are times when educational uses would not meet the criteria and commercial uses would qualify as fair use.
   

• The nature of the copyrighted work- This is based on the work itself. Things such as standardized tests and workbooks never qualify for fair use because they are meant to be consumed. Uses of factual works typically fall within fair use.
   

• The amount used- This factor considers how much of the copyrighted work was used in proportion to the original, entire work. Typically, the larger the amount used, the less a court would favor fair use.
   

• The effect of the use on market value-Generally there should not be a significant impact on the current or potential market value for the original. Restricting access to items affiliated with the institutional community  will weigh in the favor of fair use.

Additional Copyright and Fair Use Resources

Copyright and Fair Use

CONFU: The Conference on Fair Use

Copyright Clearance Center, Academic Permissions Service

Copyright & Fair Use

Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials

U.S. Copyright Forms

U.S. Copyright Law

U.S. Copyright Office

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

Multimedia and Fair Use Guidelines

Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia
Fair Use Guidelines for Educational Multimedia: Background and Summary
WWW Multimedia Law

Intellectual Property

EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) Intellectual Property Online: Patent, Trademark, Copyright Archive
Intellectual Property in the Information Age
World Intellectual Property Organization

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