Re: What if the students don't buy the book? Copyright question

["Charles P. Wiggins" <cpwiggins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Cynthia,
 
Section 110 of the copyright law addresses this:
 
B' 110 B7 Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain
performances and displays
Notwithstanding the provisions of section 106, the following are not
infringements
of copyright:
(1) performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the
course
of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational
institution, in
a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the
case of a
motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the
display
of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully
made
under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance
knew or
had reason to believe was not lawfully made;
 
The issues becomes whether the copy was lawfully made and I believe
Fair Use would cover the student there. Educational use of material is
generally given high regard under Fair Use.  As long as the student was
only presenting to a class, it is not a substantial portion of the
overall work, and the students gives proper credit for the source of the
information, in my opinion, whether it was purchased by the student is
outweighed in those circumstances by the other factors of Fair Use.  It
would not matter if it came from a textbook or a library book or a
website (assuming the website had the right to publish the information).
Again, that is just my opinion. But if the student was not distributing
the work beyond the presentation I doubt the courts would side with the
publisher.
 
Cheers,
Charles
 

Charles P. Wiggins
Director of Library Services
Isothermal Community College
P.O. Box 804
Spindale, NC 28160
828-286-3636 ext. 216
 
cpwiggins@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
 
 

E-mail correspondence to and from this sender may be subject to the
North Carolina Public Records law and may be disclosed to third parties.


>>> Cynthia Porter <cporter@xxxxxxxx> 1/10/2012 7:22 PM >>>
In discussing Fair Use with faculty, I told them that copying images
for a
classroom presentation from a required textbook was permissible
because
there was no significant effect on the market.  The publisher was
still
profiting, since the students bought the book anyway.  One professor
posed
the question, *What if the students don't buy the book?*  He has
witnessed
many students who print out the Power Point slides and use those to
study.
Is that something we have to worry about?

His question reminded me of some text I found in the Copyright
Clearance
Center's web page, "The library must have no reason to believe that
the
reproduction will be used for purposes other than private study,
scholarship and research" (from
http://www.copyright.com/Services/copyrightoncampus/basics/fairuse_archive.html).
I think that the faculty automatically assumes that the students are
going
to abuse the resources, so they prevent access.  Then the students
complain
because they don't have study materials.  It is impossible to make
both
sides happy. ;)

Thank you for your time.


Cynthia

-- 
Cynthia Porter
cporter@xxxxxxxx
Distance Support Librarian
A.T. Still Memorial Library, Arizona
A.T. Still University
5850 E. Still Circle
Mesa, AZ 85206
Phone: (480) 219-6192 or
(866) 626-2878 x6192
Fax: (480) 219-6100