FAIR USE GUIDELINES

Print Materials
The fair use guidelines for print materials are included below. They were created by a committee of educators and publishers under the guidance of the Judiciary Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are printed in the Report of the House Committee on the Judiciary (House Report 94-1476). (The Fair Use Guidelines for all types of media are also included in the BOT Rules and Procedures Manual P6Hx23-1.35 Pages I-66 through I-74.)

Agreement on guidelines for classroom copying in not-for-profit educational institutions with respect to books and periodicals.
 

GUIDELINES

Single Copying for Teachers
A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
    A. A chapter from a book;
    B. An article from a periodical or newspaper;
    C. A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work; or
    D. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

Multiple Copies for Classroom Use
Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion, provided that:
    A. The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined below; and,
    B. Meets the cumulative effect test as defined below; and,
    C. Each copy includes a notice of copyright.
 

DEFINITIONS

Brevity
(i) Poetry: (a) a complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages, or (b) from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.
(ii) Prose: (a) either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words, or (b) an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words.

[Each of the numerical limits stated in (i) and (ii) above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph].

(iii) Illustration: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, non-copyrighted cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.
(iv) "Special" works: Certain works in poetry, prose or in "poetic prose," which often combine language with illustrations and which are intended sometimes for children and at other times for a more general audience and which fall short of 2,500 words in their entirety. Paragraph (ii) above notwithstanding, such "special works" may not be reproduced in their entirety; however, an excerpt, comprising not more than two of the published pages of such special work and containing not more than 10 percent of the words found in the text thereof, may be reproduced.

Spontaneity
(i) The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher; and
(ii) The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission.

Cumulative Effect
(i) The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
(ii) Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
(iii) There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

[The limitations stated in (ii) and (iii) above shall not apply to current news periodicals and newspapers and current news sections of other periodicals.]

Prohibitions as to I and II above
Notwithstanding any of the above, the following shall be prohibited:
A. Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts therefrom are accumulated or reproduced and used separately.
B. There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, test booklets and answer sheets, and like consumable material.
C. Copying shall not:
    (a) substitute for the purchase of books, publishers' reprints or periodicals;
    (b) be directed by higher authority; or
    (c) be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
D. No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.
 

GUIDELINES FOR EDUCATIONAL USES OF MUSIC

Permissible Uses
1. Emergency copying to replace purchased copies that for any reason are not available for an imminent performance, provided purchased replacement copies shall be substituted in due course.

2. For academic purposes other than performance, single or multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made, provided that the excerpts do not comprise a performable unit such as a selection, movement or aria, but in no case more than 10 percent of the whole work. The number of copies shall not exceed one copy per pupil.

3. Printed copies which have been purchased may be edited or simplified provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, altered, or lyrics added if none exist.

4. A single copy of recordings of performances by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.

5. A single copy of a sound recording (such as a tape, disc or cassette) of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing oral exercises or examinations and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright that may exist in the sound recording.)

Prohibitions
1. Copying to create or replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works.

2. Copying of, or from, works intended to be "consumable" in the course of study or of teaching, such as workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and answer sheets, and like material.

3. Copying for the purpose of performance, except as in A(1) above.

4. Copying for the purpose of substituting for the purchase of music, except as in A(1) and A(2) above.

5. Copying without inclusion of the copyright notice that appears on the printed copy.

These guidelines are preceded by a disclaimer stating that there may be other uses not covered. Copying in excess of these minimal guidelines might still be fair use.

Public Performance of Music
Public performance of music requires adherence to copyright law. In this case, guidelines are included as part of the law, and allow many exceptions for educators. Certain performances of music in schools, libraries and churches, or other nonprofit situations are not infringements under Section 110 of the copyright law. These include:

1. Performance of a work by instructors and pupils:
    a) in the course of face-to-face teaching activities
    b) in a non-profit educational institution
    c) in a classroom or similar place (such as a library) devoted to instruction
    d) if, in the case of an audiovisual work, the copy (e.g., film or videotape) was lawfully made.

2. Performance of a nondramatic literary work or musical work in the course of a transmission if:
    a) the performance is a regular part of the systematic instructional activities of a nonprofit educational institution; and 
    b) the performance is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and
    c) the transmission is primarily for:
        (i) classroom or similar places devoted to instruction, e.g., a library; or
        (ii) the homebound; or 
        (iii) reception by officers or employees of governmental bodies as part of their duties or employment.

3. Performance of a nondramatic literary work or musical work or of a dramatic-musical work of a religious nature in the course of services at a place of worship or religious assembly. 

4. Performance of a nondramatic literary work or music (other than in a transmission to the public) without any purpose of direct or indirect commercial advantage and without payment to any performers, promoters, or organizers if: 
    a) there is no direct or indirect admission; or 
    b) the proceeds are used exclusively for educational, religious or charitable purposes, except if the copyright owner (having been given notice) objects seven days in advance in writing.

5. Public reception of a transmission of a performance as it is received on a single receiver of a kind commonly found in homes unless: 
    a) a direct charge is made to see or hear the program; or
    b) the transmission as received is further transmitted to the public.
 

GUIDELINES FOR TAPING PUBLIC BROADCASTING SERVICE PROGRAMS

Guidelines issued by four public broadcasting services permit taping of certain educational special programs. The four services are Public Broadcasting Service, Public Television Library, Great Plains National Instructional Library, and Agency for Instructional Television. Programs distributed by these four entities may be recorded under the following guidelines:

1. The recording may be made only by students, faculty or staff members in accredited, nonprofit education institutions.
2. The recordings may be used only for instruction or educationally related activities in a classroom, laboratory or auditorium.
3. The recordings may be used only in the school for which they were made; they may not be made available outside that school.
4. The recordings may be used "only during the seven-day period of local ETV [Educational Television] and other education broadcast licensed by the distribution agency, and will be erased or destroyed immediately at the end of the seven-day period except to the extent specifically authorized in writing in advance."

Like the guidelines for off-air taping of commercial broadcasts (see below), those for public broadcasting require that the recording be requested by a teacher and shown only for educational purposes to other faculty and/or students. They do not, however, limit the showing of the recording to the class of the requesting instructor. Under the public broadcasting guidelines, the recorded program could be shown by the teacher to the entire student body if the purpose was educational. Nor is there any limit placed on the number of showings permitted during the allowable seven-day period.

Commercial Broadcasts
The guidelines for taping commercial broadcasts were developed under the direction of the House Subcommittee on Courts, Civil Liberties and Administration of Justice by a negotiating committee of 19 educators and copyright proprietors. The document they developed applies the "fair use" provision of the copyright law to the recording, retention and use of television programs in classrooms. These negotiated guidelines, which were printed in the Congressional Record, are not part of the copyright act itself. Like the guidelines for other media, these are intended to describe clear examples of fair use, without necessarily including every possible case. The guidelines are listed below.

Guidelines for Off-Air Recording of Broadcast Programming for Educational Purposes
1. The guidelines were developed to apply only to off-air recording by nonprofit educational institutions.

2. A broadcast program may be recorded off-air simultaneously with broadcast transmission (including simultaneous cable re-transmission) and retained by a nonprofit educational institution for a period not to exceed the first forty-five (45) consecutive calendar days after date of recording. Upon conclusion of such retention period, all off-air recordings must be erased or destroyed immediately. "Broadcast programs" are television programs transmitted by television stations for reception by the general public without charge.

3. Off-air recordings may be used once by individual teachers in the course of relevant teaching activities and repeated once only when instructional reinforcement is necessary in classrooms and similar places devoted to instruction within a single building, cluster or campus, as well as in the home of students receiving formalized home instruction during the first ten (10) consecutive school days in the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period. "School days" are school session days - not counting weekends, holidays, vacations, examination periods, or other scheduled interruptions - within the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period.

4. Off-air recordings may be made only at the request of and used by individual teachers, and may not be regularly recorded in anticipation of requests. No broadcast program may be recorded off-air more than once at the request of the same teacher, regardless of the number of times the program may be broadcast.

5. A limited number of copies may be reproduced from each off-air recording to meet the legitimate needs of teachers under these guidelines. Each such additional copy shall be subject to all provisions governing the original recording.

6. After the first ten (10) consecutive school days, off-air recordings may be used up to the end of the forty-five (45) calendar day retention period only for teacher evaluation purposes, i.e., to determine whether or not to include the broadcast program in the teaching curriculum, and may not be used in the recording institution for student exhibition or any other non-evaluation purpose without authorization.

7. Off-air recordings need not be used in their entirety, but the recorded programs may not be altered from their original content. Off-air recordings may not be physically or electronically combined or merged to constitute teaching anthologies or compilations.

8. All copies of off-air recordings must include the copyright notice on the broadcast program as recorded.

9. Educational institutions are expected to establish appropriate control procedures to maintain the integrity of these guidelines.

TEACH Act Checklist

Basic TEACH Checklist: For Institutional Users — Faculty Staff, and Students

Last updated 22-Nov-2005