The Impact of

Copyright and
Fair Use on
Education
Autumn Pfaff
Basics of Copyright
● By definition is the legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to
print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical
material, and to authorize others to do the same.
● Copyrightable work must be creative.
● All tangible works of art that is creative are protected by copyright
immediately when created.
● Facts are not able to be copyrighted
● When in doubt about the copyright status of a work or if it is appropriate
to use it, get permission
What is Not Copyright
Protected?
● Pieces of work that has not yet been put in a physical form of expression.
● Pieces of work that has no original author or it consist of all information
that is common property, such as calendars, charts, rulers, list from public
documents.
Fair Use
● There are four factors to determine whether or not the work you are
using is going against the copyright laws.
○ Purpose
○ Nature
○ Amount
○ Effect
Fair Use Cont.
● Purpose
○ Is it for a commercial nature or for
nonprofit education purpose?
○ Items used should be in class only.
○ Students should not be charged a fee.
● Nature
○ What is the nature of the copyrighted
work?
○ Only use portions of the work produced.
○ Teachers should not pass out work
where the materials need to be
purchased.
● Amount
○ The amount of the copyrighted work you
are going to use.
○ The work being used should be brief
excerpts such as one chapter from a
book.
● Effect
○ The use on the market for the original
work.
○ The teacher should not be harming the
market of copyrighted material.
○ Copyrighted work in the class should be
cited to the original source.
References
● “Copyright Information Center.” Fair Use and Other Educational Uses, www.lib.uchicago.edu/copyrightinfo/fairuse.html.
● Copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu. (2020). Fair use for teaching and research| UC Copyright. [online] Available at:
http://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/use/fair-use.html [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].
● Educationworld.com. (2020). The Educator's Guide to Copyright and Fair Use | Education World. [online] Available at:
https://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/curr280.shtml [Accessed 22 Feb. 2020].