Fair Use for Single Copies

Anyone desiring to reproduce all or part of a copyrighted work without permission from the copyright holder is going to have to rely on Section 107, the Fair Use Doctrine, of the copyright act. In most circumstances, copying an entire work, like copying an entire book or an entire movie, will not be fair use. Court opinions and the statutory four factors of the fair use doctrine constitute the 'law' of fair use. However, various organizations and groups of stakeholders have, over the years, developed and promulgated various guidelines for what is and what is not fair use. These guidelines do not have the force
of law and are frequently impractical and unworkable in the higher education environment. But they can serve to describe minimal parameters of fair use.

For example, it is generally considered fair use to make a single copy of a journal article from an issue or a chapter or other small portion from an entire work such as a book for personal teaching or research uses. Furthermore, a library may make copies of materials for its patrons under fair use as well as under the conditions set forth in Section 108 of the copyright act. And libraries that qualify for Section 108 protection will not be liable for unsupervised use of reproducing equipment used on the premises if the reproducing equipment displays a notice that the making of a copy is subject to the copyright law.

Fair Use for Multiple Copies

Faculty frequently wish to make multiple copies of certain materials, like journal articles, newspaper articles, and portions of books, to distribute to students in their classes or to include in coursepacks for sale. The ability to reproduce and distribute these materials without the prior permission of the copyright holder will again depend on the fair use section of the copyright act. It is the general practice of most university copy centers to obtain permission to reproduce such items in coursepacks offered for sale to students. The minimal guidelines referenced above suggest that it is fair use to reproduce such items for use in the classroom if the amounts are brief, and there is not sufficient time to contact the copyright holder before the proposed use.