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The federal copyright statute prohibits the unauthorized reproduction of works of authorship. This statute is applicable for making copies for teaching and research. Works of authorship include not only traditional works, such as books, photographs, video and sculpture, but also software and databases. Works of authorship no longer are required to bear a copyright notice to be protected by the copyright statute. The copyright statute provides a "fair use" exception to the prohibition on copying that protects the production of a small number of copies of a limited portion of a work when done for educational purposes. Determining whether a given use is fair is a subjective inquiry involving many factors, but the most important issue is “the effect of the [intended] use on the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.” Unfortunately, neither the statute nor the court opinions interpreting it is helpful in elucidating the boundaries of permissible “fair use.” What
to do: Permission is needed for all uses of copyrighted material that do not fall within the "fair use" doctrine. Before making copies, review the following: · See if the work is in the public domain. As a general rule, if the work, in the edition you wish to copy, is more than 75 years old, it is probably safe. Works that were widely published without a copyright notice are probably in the public domain. Exception: Foreign works and U.S. works published since March, 1989 are copyright protected whether or not they have a notice of copyright. · If the work is not in the public domain, check the safe harbor guidelines for classroom use. If you do not have a copy, you may obtain one from your dean or department chair. Please keep in mind that these guidelines are very narrow; for example, the length limit is 1,000 words per excerpt. They describe safe harbor conditions, but do not purport to define the full extent of “fair use.” · If you intend a use that is outside the classroom guidelines, you should consider obtaining guidance from the Legal Office regarding whether the intended use may nonetheless be considered a "fair use" or obtaining permission from the copyright owner (either yourself or through a photocopy service.) Obtaining permission: Some photocopying services will obtain permission for you, and add the price of the royalties to the price of the course materials. If you make the copies yourself, or use a copy service that does not do this, you are responsible for obtaining permission whenever the work you are copying is not in the public domain and the use is not within the fair use doctrine. The Legal Office can provide sample letters requesting permission. In addition to the safe harbor guidelines, a description of the relevant provisions of the copyright law is available from your dean or department chair. I appreciate your cooperation in complying with the important legal parameters that govern our use of works of authorship. (Adapted from a March 1996 memo from Condoleezza Rice, Stanford University Provost)
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