Copyright Information

Within the Copyright Act of 1976 and its subsequent amendments, there are exemptions for the use of copyrighted materials in a physical classroom as well as a digital classroom setting. Sometimes these exceptions amount to fair use, sometimes they fall under the purview of additional legislation such as the TEACH Act. It primarily depends on the circumstances of the use and the classroom setting.

In either case, it is necessary to show due diligence to adhere to copyright law when applying exceptions to the law. What due diligence entails depends on the circumstances of the use. One example would be seeking a copyright holder's permission to use a material in class, rather than only relying on fair use doctrine or the TEACH Act without seeking permission. Best practice for seeking permission is the use of the Copyright Clearance Center to search for your work's licensing options.

Please review the following sections depending on your classroom setting.

Exceptions exist -- in Section 110 of the Copyright Code: Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays -- for the use of copyrighted works in an in-person classroom setting.  These exceptions are statutory carve-outs, not gray area risk assessments like Fair Use.

For instructors wishing to display or perform a work, the work must:

1. Be lawfully obtained;
2. Be used within a classroom;
3. Be used in a face-to-face teaching activity at a non-profit education institution;
4. Display of the work is limited to students who are signed up and receiving credit for the course.

These exceptions do not extend to the reproduction or distribution of works in a classroom setting.  For example, you can read a short story out loud in a class of 30 students (provided the conditions above are met), but you cannot copy the short story 30 times and distribute it to students.

If you intend to make and distribute physical copies of a copyrighted work in a classroom, best practice is that it comprises no more than 10% of the original work (ex. only a chapter of a book or one article from a single journal issue).

For information on the use of materials in a digital education environment, please review the "Using Copyrighted Materials in a Digital Classroom - The TEACH Act" section below.

The TEACH Act is a 2002 amendment to the Copyright Act of 1976 which provides clarification on how copyrighted materials can be used in an online educational format, including distance education, without permission from the owner as long as the conditions of the Act are met.

Note that if you meet the qualifications for exemption under the TEACH Act, you do not need to worry about fair use requirements. However, if you do not meet TEACH Act requirements, you still may be able to use the materials without permission if you meet all four fair use factors listed in the "Using Copyrighted Materials in an In-Person Classroom - Fair Use" section on this page.

Four Steps to TEACH Act Best Practice:

1. Link Up!
   When possible link directly to the source, but don't store the source yourself. Linking is the most effective protection against liability.
2. Use Only Necessary Materials and Only Limited Parts of Those Materials.
   • Don't put it up if you don't cover it in class.
   • Use only what would be displayed in a live classroom course session, no more.
     • You may not use a performance of dramatic literary or musical works without permission. This includes narrative movies and operas.
3. Limit Access.
   • Accessible only to enrolled students
   • Only for the necessary amount of time
   • Should be displayed as it would be for a live class session
   • Repeated access only if it is necessary to meet teaching objectives
4. Inform Students Of Copyright Laws And Policies.
   • Either as a statement in class or included within your syllabus or as a course announcement on Blackboard
   • ex. "The materials on this course Web site are only for the use of students enrolled in this course for purposes associated with this course and may not be retained or further disseminated."

In terms of converting a physical or analog source to a digital format, the TEACH Act "does not authorize the conversion of print or other analog versions of works into digital formats, except when...

(A) no digital version of the work is available to the institution; or

(B) the digital version of the work that is available to the institution is subject to technological protection measures that prevent its use."

Fair Use is an exemption to the exclusive copyright protections of a work and is detailed in Section 107 of the Copyright Act of 1976. Essentially, fair use allows certain certain reproductions and distribution of copyrighted material without the copyright holder's permission "for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research." Use of copyrighted material for these purposes can be deemed as "not an infringement of copyright."

However, not all uses of copyrighted work which fall under these categories can be considered Fair Use. So, to determine whether your purpose of using a work would fall under Fair Use, all of the following four factors must be considered:

1. Purpose and character of the use
   • Is the use for nonprofit educational purposes or for commercial purposes?
   • A particular use is more likely to be considered fair use if it is for nonprofit educational use.
2. Nature of the copyrighted work

   • Is the material factual or imaginative?
   • A particular use is more likely to be considered fair use if the material is primarily factual.
3. Amount and substantiality of the portion used

   • Is a small amount being used to illustrate a point, or is the entire work being used?
   • A particular use is more likely to be considered fair use if it is a small portion of the overall piece.
4. Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work
   • Does using the material compete with potential profits that the owner could be entitled to?
   • An instance is more likely to be considered fair use if it is has no impact on potential profits of the copyright owner. (This is often the most difficult factor to overcome.)

Section 121 of the Copyright Code allows for reproduction or distributed of copyrighted materials without permission "in accessible formats exclusively for use by eligible persons."
 

For questions about who is an eligible person and how to obtain accessible classroom copies, please contact the Academic Accommodation Services.

When including materials available through the library (either books, book chapters, or journal articles) in a course in either a syllabus or on a Blackboard site, it is best practice to provide a direct link to the resource rather than the a .pdf copy of the item itself. This is for two reasons:

• Links to library resources will always be compliant with existing agreements between the library and vendors (and therefore legal)
• Every click on a link will register as a separate use of the link's resource, and will provide better information about what resource subscriptions are useful and should be retained by the library.

Enter an article's DOI or PMID number to search the Dykes Library for access to a specific article.

Find Full Text Articles

If you only know the article's title and journal title, please use the Citation Search/Linker tool, accessible from both the link below or the library homepage.

Enter the DOI or PMID for individual articles, or ISBNs for individual books.

If the library has direct access to an individual copy, an access link will appear.

This page's URL may be used as a best practice in a Blackboard course or shared directly with students for accessing the resource on or off campus.

Dykes Library Interlibrary Loan services enable KUMC students, faculty and staff to request copies of materials such as articles, books, and media from other libraries if Dykes Library does not have access to a copy. Materials borrowed through ILL are intended for individual use related to research, scholarship, or work obligations at KUMC. They are not intended to supplement materials required for coursework that are normally purchased via the bookstore or an online vendor. Therefore, faculty and students are not allowed to request required textbooks via Interlibrary Loan.

For more information on using the library's interlibrary loan system (ILLiad) to request materials for individual use, use the link below.

If faculty, students, or researchers would like to request the library purchase a copy of a book/e-book or a subscription to a particular journal, please fill out the form linked below.

Note, a request does not guarantee a purchase will be made. All recommendations will be evaluated based on the library's Collection Management Policy and fund availability.