Skip to Main Content

General Use: Copyright, Fair Use, Creative Commons and OER: Fair Use

Confused about what you can and can't use in educational presentations? Is fair use a blanket protection for teachers? Here are some resources to help you and your students navigate the murky waters of copyright.

The Fair Use exception to Copyright Law

Four Factors to consider for Fair Use

Exceptions for educators to the exclusive rights of copyright holders to consider:

"...for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research..." (http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107)

"(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;

(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work."

http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap1.html#107

Resources

Fair Use Frequently Asked Questions from Teaching Copyright

Fair Use Evaluator A tool to help you evaluate whether your use falls under fair use.

Educational Uses of Non-Coursepack Materials from Stanford University Libraries
A great discussion of reproduction of class materials. Based on the work of Rich Stim, Attorney at Law.