Fair Use and copying portions of video programs for academic instruction:
Digitizing or otherwise copying reasonable portions of video programs to enhance classroom teaching is generally thought to fall into the area of “fair use.” The “legal,” reasonable or appropriate amount that can be used is still widely open to debate across academia. Neither I, nor any of the other staff members in the Nonprint Media Services Library are authorized to provide legal advice on copyright or fair use. We are happy however to provide a few suggestions that should help members of the University of Maryland academic community to establish and document a strong case for claiming fair use.
Follow the link below to a Fair Use Checklist created by Kenneth D. Crews and Dwayne K. Buttler of the Indiana University Copyright Management Center, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). It has a one page introduction to fair use, links to the copyright law itself, and a brief checklist that helps to establish that an individual has properly considered the four factors of fair use: the Purpose, Nature, Amount and Effect of the use. I would urge anyone who copies portions of films or video programs to complete one of these forms for every single clip captured for teaching purposes. On the blank, reverse side of the document, I further suggest that it is a good idea to write a single sentence or two describing the clip copied, and the pedagogical reason for making it. It is my understanding that this could help to establish that there was no intent to infringe on copyright, and that reasonable “due diligence” was exercised in identifying and selecting the material to be copied.
I and my colleagues in Nonprint Media hope that you will find these suggestions to be useful as you seek new ways to enhance teaching, learning and scholarship at the University of Maryland.
With permission from Indiana University-Purdue University University Indianapolis, here is a link to the:
IUPUI Fair Use Checklist [.PDF file]
Allan C. Rough, Manger
Nonprint Media Services
Copyright Information about Nonprint Materials
The Cornell University Law School website about U.S. Code Collection gives specific information about the performance or display of a work by instructors or students at a nonprofit educational institution, such as the University of Maryland. Nonprint Media Services and the University of Maryland at College Park are a part of the Consortium of Colleges and University Media Centers (CCUMC), which has created Fair Use Guidelines and the University of Texas has made available in html format Fair Use Guidelines for Multimedia.
Another useful resource is the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media-Literacy Education created by American University's Center for Social Media. This guide was created and reviewed by experts in fair use, which are rules that govern how educators can reproduce sections of copyrighted works.Links to General Copyright Information
For more general information about such topics as using Interlibrary Loan materials at academic institutions we recommend visiting the Campus Guide to Copyright Compliance. Designed for academic institutions, this guide helps answer questions ranging from basic copyright law to the more complex topics of ILL and e-reserves.To learn more about copyright laws in particular, we suggest also visiting the U. S. Copyright Office's official website.
