In the Classroom
In the physical classroom, materials may be photocopied and
distributed to students as long as the principles of fair use are
followed.
- Each copy must include a notice of copyright
- Copyright permission may be required when using photocopies during two or more semesters (concurrent or not)
- Audiovisual works such as DVDs and sound recordings may be displayed or played providing that the copy is lawful
Faculty members are permitted to copy:
- A complete poem, if it is less than 250 words and printed on not more than two pages
- An excerpt from a longer poem, if it is less than 250 words
- A complete article, story, or essay, if it is less than 2,500 words
- An excerpt from a prose work, if it is less than 1,000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less
- One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon, or picture per book or periodical
- Faculty is NOT permitted to copy and distribute:
- Multiple copies of a work for classroom use if it has already been copied for another class in the same institution
- Multiple
copies of a short poem, article, story or essay from the same author
more than once in a class term or take multiple copies from the same
collective work or periodical issue more than three times a year
- Copies of works to take the place of an anthology
- Copies of "consumable" materials, such as workbooks
Online
Under the TEACH Act, an amendment to the copyright law, copyrighted
materials are permitted to be distributed digitally to enrolled
students without gaining prior copyright permission. However certain
criteria must be met before employing the rules of the TEACH Act:
- The use of copyrighted sources must be within the confines of "mediated instructional activities"
- Audiovisual
materials are more limited in a digital environment--"smaller and
discreet" portions of the work should be displayed unless displaying
the entire performance is essential to the course
- Links to articles in research databases may be included in the institution's website, including course managment software
- Materials
transmitted electronically must be limited to students currently
enrolled in the course and must be made unavailable at the end of the
course
