Nothing is cut-and-dried about fair use within an educational setting. Infringement claims are decided on a case-by-case basis. The rules below are only guidelines. If you have any questions about fair use, please contact Mark Swails, copyright librarian.
Guidelines for Fair Use
Chapter in a book
Fair use (permission not required)
- Single copy used by an instructor for research, teaching or class preparation
- Multiple copies (one per student per class) if the chapter is brief, spontaneously copied and in compliance with the cumulative effect test (see below)
- Copyright notice and attribution included
Newspaper/magazine article
Fair use (permission not required)
- A complete work of less than 2,500 words
- For longer articles, excerpts of up to 1,000 words or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less (a minimum of 500 words)
- Articles covered in the previous two bullets may be expanded (e.g., the number of words increased) to permit the completion of an unfinished prose paragraph)
- Copyright notice and attribution included
Poems
Fair use (permission not required)
- Copies of the entire poem if it is less than 250 words and printed on no more than two pages
- 250 words of a longer poem
- Articles covered in the previous two bullets may be expanded (e.g., the number of words increased) to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem)
- 5 poems by different poets from a collection
- 3 poems (or excerpts) per poet from the same collective work or periodical volume
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- A notation if alterations are made
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Multiple copies used semester after semester without permission
- Multiple copies that create an anthology
- Multiple copies intended to avoid the purchase of a textbook or other materials
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original
Photographs, illustrations and graphic images (including charts, diagrams, graphs, drawings, cartoons and Web images)
Fair use (permission not required)
- Copying a photo, illustration or image in its entirety, but no more than five images from one artist
- Using images from a published collective work, but no more than 15 images or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- A notation if alterations are made
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Making and distributing multiple copies
- Making copies to avoid purchase
- Incorporating or altering the image as an embellishment or decoration for artistic purposes that aren't temporary
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original
Video or animation
Fair use (permission not required)
- Copying up to 3 minutes or 10 percent of the work, whichever is less
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- A notation if alterations are made
- Copied spontaneously
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Making and distributing multiple copies
- Distributing multiple copies semester after semester
- Making copies to avoid purchase
- Incorporating or altering the image as an embellishment or decoration for artistic purposes that aren't temporary
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original
Music and lyrics (including sheet music, songs, lyrics, musical scores or recordings)
Fair use (permission not required)
- Copy up to 10 percent in print, sound or multimedia form, but no more than 30 seconds of an individual work
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- A notation if alterations are made
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Making and distributing multiple copies
- Distributing multiple copies semester after semester
- Making copies to avoid purchase
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original
- Changing the basic melody or fundamental character of the piece
Broadcast program
Fair use (permission not required)
- Single copy of off-air simultaneous broadcast used within a period not to exceed the first 45 consecutive calendar days after the recording date
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- No alterations
- Used only by individual instructors
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Making and distributing multiple copies
- Distributing multiple copies semester after semester
- Making copies to avoid purchase
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original
Numerical data sets
Fair use (permission not required)
- Copying up to 10 percent or 2,500 fields or cell entries, whichever is less
- Copyright notice and attribution included
- Noting if alterations were made (alterations must support an instructional objective)
Infringing Use - Not "Fair Use"
- Making and distributing multiple copies
- Distributing multiple copies semester after semester
- Using an unlawfully acquired copy as the original