Faculty & Staff: Copyright and Fair Use

Guidelines for teacher copies

A teacher may make, for their own use related to the classroom, a single copy of:

• A book chapter
• An article from a journal, magazine, or newspaper
• A short work such as a story, essay, or poem
• An image, including charts, graphs, drawings, photographs, or paintings

Guidelines for student copies

A teacher may make multiple copies of the same works to distribute to their students if they meet the following criteria:

• Brevity, see Circular 21 (link will open in a new window), page 6, for brevity guidelines
  • No more than one work of a single author is copied
  • Copies are used for only a single course
  • Educators limit the distribution of photocopied materials to less than nine instances in a single semester
• Spontaneity: 
  • The decision to use the photocopied material is the teacher's
  • The decision to use the photocopied material is made so close in time to the classroom need for the material that the teacher could not reasonably expect a timely reply to a request for permission

Each copy made and distributed must contain a copyright notice.

Guidelines for movies and film

In a physical seated class you may show an entire movie as long as that movie was acquired legally, and that showing the film is relevant to the educational goals of the course.

Guidelines for music

Songs: Up to 10% or 3 minutes, whichever amount is less.

Lyrics: Guidelines related to poetry can apply here, or up to 10% of the content.

*As always, these are general rules of thumb.  You may be able to use more, but be careful to assess any use of music or lyrics using the same four criteria of fair use.

Why does the Library get to share books that are copyrighted?

The Library operates under a clause of the Copyright law known as First Sale.  Once an individual or group has purchased a work, they may share or dispose of it however they wish, including lending it to an individual or donating it to a used book store. However, libraries are limited into what we may do with a copyrighted work once we've purchased it, including barring us from transforming it into another format through photocopies, scanning, or otherwise digitizing.

First Sale does NOT mean that a library may:

• Show a movie publicly just because they bought the DVD
• Make copies of a book and distribute them to everyone who walks in the door
• Scan a book and upload it to their website.

When to seek permission...

• If you've been using the same photocopied work in your class for the last fifteen years
• If you know you'll be assigning a copyrighted work in March when you're putting your syllabus together in January
• If you've decided to include a reading that's not in the textbook in your assignment two weeks from now

Or basically any time you plan to distribute copyrighted works!

Remember... A key to Fair Use is Spontaneity.  If there is reasonable time to seek permission, you are required to do so!

Seeking Permissions:

​Three steps to securing permission:

• Identify the rights holder.  If you know the publisher, that's the best place to start, since most publishers have a specific path they require you to take when seeking copyright permissions.  
• Request permission. Verbal permission is a good start, but you will need a signed letter for legal purposes.  Most publishers and major rights holders will have a template or form to use for this purpose.
• Keep a record. If permission is granted, hang on to the signed letter detailing the parameters of the permission, and any documentation created in the course of seeking permission.  

What if permission is denied?

Email cccclib@cccc.edu.  The Library may be able to provide access to the work you're seeking through a course reserve.

Helpful Links:

What is "Public Domain?"

After a copyright has expired, a work enters the public domain, which means you may share, reproduce, or even modify or adapt a work without first seeking permission.  

Generally "expired copyright" means:

• Work made for hire: 95 years from the first publication. Example: Mickey Mouse
• Work by the author: life of the author plus 70 years. Example: Lord of the Rings

Some works, such as United States federal government publications, enter the public domain automatically upon publication.

Public domain also contains works that are not protected by copyright law.

These works may have been shared by author intentionally for common usage. Anyone can use these works without seeking permission or attributing the work's creator. There are several resources online where you can find works in the public domain.

Here are some links to websites offering public domain works: