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Library Support for Faculty

Information about University Libraries resources for instructional use in the classroom, online courses, and Blackboard

Lightning Talk on Copyright Considerations

Check out this lightning talk by Maria Sclafani, Coordinator of Library Instructional Services, for the January 2021 Academic Resources Conference (ARC). Library Guides mentioned in the talk are:

Copyright

Copyright is the legal right of creators to control how their works are used by others. Copyright protects works such as poetry, movies, CD-ROMs, video games, videos, plays, paintings, sheet music, recorded music performances, novels, software code, sculptures, photographs, choreography and architectural designs. The Copyright Term refers to the period of time a work is covered by copyright. For more information on copyright, see our Copyright Guide or consult the following sources:

Fair Use

Fair use is a provision in copyright law that allows for the use of copyrighted works under some specific circumstances and for particular purposes such as criticism, comment, scholarship, or research. Fair use is determined by the following four factors (from Chapter 1, Section 107 of the Copyright Law):

  • the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
  • the nature of the copyrighted work
  • the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
  • the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

To help you determine if your use is a "fair use," consult one of the fair use checklists provided below.

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