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Copyright 101: Educational Use Standards

A LibGuide to inform faculty and students about copyright.

General Information

There are no hard and fast rules for fair use in the classroom. Please take these guidelines with a grain of salt and conduct your own fair use evaluation. 

Please use these examples as a suggested starting point and be sure to use the Fair Use Evaluator, if you deem it appropriate to do so. Also, please be advised that courts are not bound by established standards or guidelines and the Copyright Act contains no such standards. Therefore, we advise that you conduct your own fair use evaluation. 

Print Materials:

  • A single chapter from a book (5% of work for in print; 10% of work for out of print)
  • A single article from a journal issue or newspaper
  • A short story, essay, or poem from an individual work.
  • A single chart, diagram, graph, drawing, cartoon, or picture from a book, journal, magazine, or newspaper.

Distributing Copies

  • Copies made should not substitute the purchase of books, journals, etc.
  • Always provide a copyright notice on the first page of the copied material. At bare minimum your notice should state: "Notice: This material is subject to the copyright law of the United States."
  • Provide only one copy per student.
  • Copying the works for subsequent semesters requires copyright permission from the publisher.

Using Materials Found on the Internet

  • Always credit the source
  • If you are using the information on your personal web page ask permission or simply link to the site
  • If you receive permission to use the material keep a copy for your records

Using Multimedia

Multimedia works are created by combining copyrighted elements such as movies, music, sounds, graphics, and text. It is recommended that you use only small portions of other people's works.

Suggested limits:

  • Movies: Up to 10% or three minutes, whichever is less
  • Text: Up to 10% or 1,000 words, whichever is less. (The limits on poetry are more restrictive.)
  • Music: Up to 10% of an individual copyrighted musical composition. 10% of a copyrighted musical composition on a sound recording. However, no more than 30 seconds may be used without gaining permission from the copyright owner and/or publisher.
  • Photos and Illustrations: Based on the below guidelines, "a photograph or illustration may be used in its entirety, but no more than five images by one artist or photographer may be incorporated into any one multimedia program. From a published collective work, not more than 10% or 15 images, whichever is less, may be used."

Photocopies

The following are general guidelines for photocopying materials in support of your classroom lecture. These suggested guidelines are based on our interpretation of Circular 21 [pdf]. Please note that these "best practices" may not fit every situation.  Moreover, the courts are not bound by these guidelines and the Copyright Act contains no such guidelines, therefore it's advisable that you still conduct a Fair Use Evaluation. 

The limits:

  • Poem less than 250 words
  • Excerpt of 250 words from a poem greater than 250 words
  • Articles, stories, or essays less than 2,500 words
  • Excerpt from a longer work (10% of work or 1,000 words, whichever is less)
  • One chart, picture, diagram, graph, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue
  • Two pages (maximum) from an illustrated work less than 2,500 words (usually books for children)

In addition...

  • No more than one copy per student. Usage must be “at the instance of inspiration of a single teacher" and when the time frame doesn't allow enough time for asking permission
  • Only for one course
  • No more than nine instances per class per term (current news publications such as newspapers can be used more often)
  • Don't create anthologies
  • Don't do it every term
  • Copies may be made only from legally acquired originals
  • If time allows, always seek permission from the publisher
  • Can't be directed by "higher authority" (i.e. your boss, supervisor, etc.)
  • Copying can't be a substitute for buying (i.e., faculty who do not want to make their students purchase the book)

Music

The following are suggested limits for copying music in support of your classroom lecture. These suggested limits are based on our interpretation of guidelines that were developed during CONFU. The use of portions larger than those described here may also be permissible, but the user must test a particular application against all four factors of the "Fair Use doctrine" contained in the law (Title 17, U.S. Code, Sec. 107) to determine if it qualifies as fair.

Also, please note that it is permissible to create a compilation CD of separate music tracks for classroom use, if it adheres to the below proportions and limits. These "best practices" may not fit every situation.  Moreover, the courts are not bound by these guidelines and the Copyright Act contains no such guidelines, therefore it's advisable that you still conduct a Fair Use Evaluation. 

The Limits

  • Film or video: may use 10% or up to 3 minutes
  • Music, lyrics, or music video: may use 10% or 30 seconds with no change to character or work or melody