Copyright

Myths and Fair Use

© Myth: It doesn't say it's copyrighted!

As of March 1, 1989, the copyright warning does not have to appear for a work to be legally copyrighted. However, it is a good idea to remind people of your copyrights by including:

Consider adding statements that grant permission or restrict use, such as:

"Permission is given to copy this work provided credit is given and copies are not intended for sale."

"Use or inclusion of any portion of this document in another work intended for commercial use will require permission from the copyright owner."

© Myth: It's OK--it's for education.

Before you include someone else's work without permission, consider ALL 4 of the fair use factors:

1. Purpose and character of use
   • commercial or educational use
   • for profit or not
   • degree of transformation; value added
   • for criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, research
2. Nature of the copyrighted work
   • character of the work
     for example, fact or fiction
   • worthy of (extensive) protection?
3. Amount, substantiality
   • use only what's necessary
   • quantity and quality in relation to the whole work
4. Effect
   • harm to potential market or value of a work after a portion has been used separately from the whole

Review the law, US Code, Title 17, Sect. 107 and see interpretations by Georgia Harper at University of Texas at Austin.

University Libraries' Copyright homepage

Send your questions, comments, or concerns about University Libraries' copyright information and policies to Gail McMillan, director, Scholarly Communications Project http://scholar.lib.vt.edu