The Copyright Act allows anyone to photocopy copyrighted works without securing permission from the copyright owner when the photocopying amounts to a “fair use” of the material (17 U.S.C. SS107). The following guidelines describe the boundaries of fair use of photocopied material used in research or the classroom or in a library reserve operation. Fair use cannot always be expressed in numbers – either the number of pages copied or the number of copies distributed. Therefore, an instructor should weigh the various factors listed in the Act and judge whether the intended use of photocopied, copyrighted material is within the spirit of the fair use doctrine. Any serious questions concerning whether a particular photocopying constitutes fair use should be directed to College counsel.
RESEARCH USES
At the very least, instructors may make a single copy of the following for scholarly research or use in teaching or preparing to teach a class:
- A chapter from a book
- An article from a periodical or newspaper
- A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work
- A chart, diagram, graph, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper
These examples reflect the most conservative guidelines for fair use. They do not represent inviolate ceilings for the amount of copyrighted material which can be photocopied within the boundaries of fair use. When exceeding these minimum levels, however, you should consider the four factors listed in Section 107 of the Copyright Act to make sure that any additional photocopying is justified. The following demonstrate situations where increased levels of photocopying would remain within the range of fair use:
- The inability to obtain another copy of the work because it is not available from another library or a source cannot be obtained within your time constraints;
- The intention to photocopy the material only once and not to distribute the material to others;
- The ability to keep the amount of material photocopied within a proportion reasonable to the entire work (the larger the work, the greater amount of material which may be photocopied).
- Most single-copy photocopying for your personal use in research – even when it involves a substantial portion of a work – may well constitute fair use.
