Copyright and Fair Use

The University of Maryland University College released guidelines on copyright and fair use in 2011. Copyright guidelines are important for teachers and students to learn about and to follow because they provide the author of a work with ownership, control, and protection. Giving power to an author is not only for preserving ownership, but also to promote the author and others who view the work to be motivated to create more works. For a work to receive copyright, it must be recorded in some way, be original or adapted, and possess some creativity.

Fair use builds on copyright because it is a set of limitations on the copyright holder's rights. When considering if material is fair use, it must fit a certain purpose, such as for nonprofit or educational activities. The work should also be published, out of print, and factual to be fair use. The fair use guidelines also encourage using small portions, rather than the entire work. When a work is being used by a teacher, there are several rules that should be followed in order to abide by fair use. Copying should be done only near the time the material will be used and should acknowledge the author. Teachers should be seeking permission from the author after more than nine uses in a single semester because repeated use through the years is highly discouraged and not considered fair use. As long as the purpose is not for commercial use, a single use does not require permission. If the work is greater than 2,500 words, only portions can be used.

Fair use guidelines are something that affect all teachers and students. It is fundamental that teachers model appropriate use of works and communicate why this is important to all students. It goes without saying that most authors would like credit for anything they create. With that being said, teachers may have to do more work on the front end of lesson planning to find resources that are appropriate and do not require permission. If the material requires permission, teachers should be working on obtaining this as soon as possible.

Many forms of copyrighted work do not require permission for fair use. However, there are several guidelines for purpose, size, and quantity of works that are fair use. Using a work for learning activities does not require permission. However, after two years of use, teachers must obtain permission for further incorporation in the classroom. For clips and videos, only ten percent or three minutes can be shown, whichever is shorter. For text sources, only ten percent or up to 1,000 words can be used, whichever is less. For music, ten percent or up to 30 seconds can be shared. Illustrations and photos have a limit of five from one photographer or 10% (15 photos) of a collection. Data sets should contain up to ten percent or 2,500 cells of the copyrighted data, whichever is smaller. These guidelines allow teachers to use works in the classroom fairly easily, but allow the author credibility and ownership. Following fair use guidelines requires careful research and consistent documentation. Fair use is using resources respectfully, and teachers should be doing this each and every day.