The purpose of this guide is to provide guidelines for FIU Faculty when placing materials on Reserve, and to help you learn about fair use of copyrighted materials for teaching, learning, and research. These copyright guidelines are in accordance with the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code). This information pertains to both electronic and print reserve use of copyrighted materials. You are encouraged to become familiar with this information in order to become familiar with copyright compliance obligations all parties. This guide does not attempt to provide nor infers the provision of legal advice or counsel.
Reserves and Copyright Compliance
The Reserve Policies provides assistance for placing materials on Reserve, with additional information concerning Reserves and copyright compliance.
Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials
Section 106 of the U. S. Copyright Law determines copyright owner exclusive rights:
- Reproduction of copyrighted works
- Preparation of derivative works from copyrighted works
- Distribution of copies of the copyrighted works to the public
- Performance of copyrighted works
- Display of copyrighted works in public
- Performance of copyrighted sound recordings by digital transmission
Section 107: Doctrine of Fair Use defines the copyright owner exclusive rights limitations:
"Fair use of a copyrighted work . . . including reproduction . . . for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research is NOT an infringement of copyright."
Fair Use Is Not Free Use
There are four criteria used to help determine fair use of copyrighted materials:
- Purpose – must be used for nonprofit reasons (education, research)
- Nature – nonfiction or simple factual materials are generally allowed for use
- Percentage -- using small portions of the material for referrals is generally allowed
- Market Value – disallowed if use prevents the copyright owner from appropriate compensation
Fair Use Guidelines for Portion Control for Media Types
- Motion Media -- 10 percent or 3 minutes, whichever is less
- Text -- 10 percent or 1,000 words, whichever is less
- Music -- 10 percent of individually copyrighted musical composition, or 10 percent of the composition embodied on a sound recording. No more than 30 seconds.
- Illustrations and Photographs -- Fair use precludes the use of entire works. In any one multimedia program, no more than 5 works from any one artist or photographer. From a collective work, no more than 10 percent or 15 images, whichever is less.
- Numerical Data Sets -- Up to 10 percent or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less.
Copyright Resources via the Web
These copyright web resourses provide assistance with understanding copyright compliance responsibilities.
Questions & Answers
I have never worried about copyright compliance before. Why now? Because there is a national awareness for the need to be copyright compliant, and publishers have been instrumental in demanding compliance.
What kinds of materials can I place on Reserve that will be copyright compliant? For the most part, any book is okay. Copyright compliance for Reserves primarily applies when you want to submit a reproduced material for Reserves, such as photocopies of articles in journals, newspapers, magazines, and books.
What kinds of materials can I place on Reserve that do not require copyright compliance? Your class syllabus, class notes, lecture notes, and other materials you have originally created for your class do not need copyright permission or compliance. These materials may be placed on Reserve without copyright concerns. Also, some government documents are public materials, and therefore are not copyrighted. Check with a government documents librarian if you are unsure.
Do I have to seek permission from the publishers? No, the Library will assume this responsibility. The Library has contracted with a special copyright compliance service which can usually provide for immediate responses, thereby not delaying the processing of your Reserve materials.
What happens if the material I need does not receive permission to be used? Then the Library is unable to place this material on Reserve. If the owner of the material's copyright denies use, the Library is compelled to comply.
Will I be notified if the copyright use is denied? Yes, you will be notified and your material will be returned.
When should I submit materials for placement on Reserve? No sooner than 4 weeks before the semester begins. Please allow about 2 weeks for your materials to be processed and placed on Reserve. Of course, you may submit materials at any time during the semester.
If I intend to keep a material on Reserve every semester, do I need to resubmit this request each semester? Yes, in accordance with the Copyright Law, all Reserve items must be renewed in writing, or returned. You, as the faculty member, have the responsibility for renewing materials use on a per-semester basis. You will receive the paperwork for this automatically.
What if I have multiple copies of photocopied articles? Can they all be placed on Reserve? Because the Library must pay a copyright fee on a per-article basis, multiple copies of the same article will automatically be placed on Electronic Reserve. This service involves the scanning of the article, loading on the library server, and access by patrons from any computer in the world with the help of Adobe Reader. Articles placed on Electronic Reserve are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What type of materials can be placed on Electronic Reserves? Due to copyright restrictions and other technical considerations, only articles published in journals, magazines, newspapers, and book chapters are eligible for this service.
Contact
If you have questions, please contact Douglas Hasty or Steve Switzer.