Northwest University Copyright Policy
Use of copyrighted materials by people who do not own rights to the materials depends on Fair Use doctrine. Fair Use doctrine recognizes that certain uses of copyrighted material are in the public interest. These uses include teaching, research and criticism. Unfortunately, there are no hard and fast rules for what constitutes fair use. Each use of copyrighted materials must be judged on its own merit using the following four factors:
- The purpose of the use: is the use commercial or non-profit?
- The nature of the material: is it factual or highly creative?
- The amount of the work used.
- The effect of the use: does the use of copyrighted material impact the market for the original?
Use the following fair use checklist to assist in weighing the factors. Remember, you can not simply add checkboxes to arrive at a number. Some factors may be judged to be neutral to the case for fair use.
1. Purpose of the Use
Due to the nature of the work we do at Northwest, factor one will most often favor fair use. However, be wary of straying into uses that involve entertainment (e.g. showing a film for fun) or commercial activity (e.g. re-selling a pack of readings).
Favoring Fair Use
- Teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use)
- Research
- Scholarship
- Non-profit educational institution
- Criticism
- News reporting
- Transformative or productive use (changes the work for new utility)
- Restricted access
- Parody
Opposing Fair Use
- Commercial activity
- Profiting from the use
- Entertainment
- Bad-faith behavior
- Denying credit to the original author
2. Nature of the Work
Fiction and artistic works generally enjoy a higher level of copyright protection. Note that this does rule out their use where other factors strongly favor fair use (e.g. showing movies in a film class).
Favoring Fair Use
- Published work
- Factual or non-fiction based
- Important to favored educational objectives
Opposing Fair Use
- Unpublished work
- Highly creative work (art, music, novels, films, plays)
- Fiction
3. Amount Used
Remember that amount used is relative to the length of the work as whole. One chapter is a small portion of an entire book, but a journal article – even though it may be about the same length as a book chapter – is considered the ENTIRE work.
Amount is also relative to what is required to meet your educational objectives. Use the smallest amount of the material that you can. Note that supplemental readings are less likely to be considered fair use than required readings.
Favoring Fair Use
- Small quantity
- Portion used is not central or significant to the entire work
- Amount is appropriate for favored educational purpose
Opposing Fair Use
- Large portion of the whole work used
- Portion used is central to or “heart of the work”
4. Effect on the Market for the Work
In general, do not do anything that impairs the publishers ability to profit from their products. For example, reproducing several chapters from a textbook in order to avoid purchasing the book is unlikely to be considered fair use. There is a body of opinion which suggests that if licensing is available through Copyright.com you should purchase reproduction rights.
Assuming that no licensing mechanism is available, out-of-print books are likely to favor fair use because publishers do not profit from used book sales.
Favoring Fair Use
- User owns lawfully purchased or acquired copy of original work
- One or few copies made
- No significant effect on the market or potential market for copyrighted work
- No similar product marketed by the copyright holder
- Lack of licensing mechanism
Opposing Fair Use
- Could replace sale of copyrighted work
- Significantly impairs market or potential market for copyrighted work or derivative
- Reasonably available licensing mechanism for use of the copyrighted work
- Affordable permission available for using work
- Numerous copies made
- You made it accessible on the Web or in other public forum
- Repeated or long-term use
Based on the Fair Use Checklist by Kenneth Crews, Columbia University.
The TEACH Act is an amendment to copyright law that provides additional options for using copyrighted materials in online classes.