Copyright

The Doctrine of "Fair Use" under the U.S. copyright law permits, in limited situations, the use of portions of a copyrighted work without the copyright owner's permission. Four basic factors must be examined in determining whether a use is a "fair use": the purpose and character of the use; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount and substantiality of the portion of the work as a whole; and the effect of the use in question upon the potential market value of the copyrighted work. NO one factor is determinative of a person's right to use a copyrighted work without permission. However, certain "guidelines" have been recognized that indicate uses thought to be "fair", these are available from AAP and the United States Copyright Office.

Educational use alone is insufficient to make a use in question a fair one. The copying will fall within a certain "fair use guidelines" if it meets agreed standards of spontaneity, brevity and cumulative effect. A good example of legal copying could be if a professor read an article in the morning newspaper, and wanted to distribute it in class that afternoon. However, any reuse of the article in a subsequent semester without first receiving permission would not be covered by the guidelines. Of course, chapter length or other substantial excerpts from copyrighted books will generally require permission before copying.

Educational use alone is insufficient to make a use in question a fair one. The copying will fall within a certain "fair use guidelines" if it meets agreed standards of spontaneity, brevity and cumulative effect. A good example of legal copying could be if a professor read an article in the morning newspaper, and wanted to distribute it in class that afternoon. However, any reuse of the article in a subsequent semester without first receiving permission would not be covered by the guidelines. Of course, chapter length or other substantial excerpts from copyrighted books will generally require permission before copying.

The author of the book is not necessarily the owner of the copyright. If the publisher, by contract, holds the particular rights for reproduction, then-- for uses that are not "fair"-- the author should contact the publisher.

Just because the book is out-of-print does not mean that the work is no longer protected by copyright. It is best to contact the publisher's copyright permission department to determine whether the work is still under copyright or in the public domain.

Generally, yes. However, you should check to see if the publisher restricted or permitted, or put conditions on, reuse.

The absence of a copyright notice does not mean that the work in question is not protected. Copyright protection begins at creation for "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression". The best method for determining copyright ownership is by contacting the publisher of the work that you wish to copy.

Yes. If a bookstore, copyshop or professor sells or distributes copyrighted materials that have been improperly copied, they can be subject to a lawsuit, found liable for copyright infringement and subjected to all penalties and remedies for the infringement. IF faculty request course materials at the same time they place their book orders, permission should easily be cleared in time for the start of classes. However, this is dependent upon the particular publisher's permissions process as well as the timing of the faculty request.

The absence of a response does not qualify one to copy. You should not begin copying the material before receiving permission.

There is no automatic exemption for making unauthorized copies of a copyrighted work. If there is no page showing who owns the copyright, year of publication and publishers name, you may obtain such information from numerous sources available in most libraries such as Books In Print and many college stores, or by contacting the Copyright Clearance Center's home page at http://www.copyright.com

It is likely to be protected by copyright. You should seek to determine the source and not use it without permission.