Fair Use in Academia
Fair use is a concept in U.S. copyright law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder (Title 17, section 107). Section 107 states that the use of copyrighted works "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright."
Section 107 also provides a framework for determining whether a particular use of copyrighted material is legal under the terms of the fair use doctrine. The framework is comprised of four factors to be considered:
1) The character of the use including whether it is for commercial or not-for-profit educational purposes
2) The nature of the copyrighted work to be used
3) The amount of the copyrighted work used in proportion to the whole
4) The effect on the potential commercial market
Adelphi's Copyright Policy affirms the need to employ the four-factor test to all uses of copyrighted works which claim a fair use exemption. See the box below for help understanding how to use the four factors to determine whether your desired usage of the copyrighted work is covered by the fair use exemption.
Uses generally not permitted under fair use:
- Copying in lieu of purchase: faculty members cannot distribute digital copies of an entire, copyrighted work as a substitute for asking students to obtain it themselves.
- Using copyrighted material in full: only a portion of a copyrighted work may be used without permission from the copyright holder, regardless of the purpose.
On the following page of this guide are answers to additional Fair Use FAQs.
Fair Use Resources
|
Four Factors |
Favorable Use |
Unfavorable Use |
|---|---|---|
|
1. Purpose and Character |
Non-profit, teaching, research, scholarship |
Commercial use and for profit, entertainment, verbatim copying |
|
2. Nature of the copyrighted work |
Factual, published work, clear educational objectives related to the use of work |
Unpublished creative work such as literary fiction or film |
|
3. Amount & Substantiality of work used |
Small amount in relation to whole work, the portion used is not considered the essence of the work. |
Large portion used; portion used is central, significant, and considered the heart of the work |
|
4. Impact on the Potential Market |
Work lawfully acquired, reasonable attempts made to obtain permission, no significant impact on the market, restricted access to the work |
Significantly affects value of the copyrighted work in the market, repeated long term use, work made available on the web, permissions are available |
- Exceptions for Instructors in U.S. Copyright LawThis excellent tool helps you determine whether your intended use of a copyrighted work is allowable under the fair use exemption of the TEACH Act. It will also provide you with a personalized PDF laying out the rationale for the exemption should you have to defend your decision. Maintained by the ALA Office of Information Technology Policy.
