Copyright
Q: I would like to make multiple copies of a section of an essay from a book of collected works of the same author and distribute them to my class. The book has a standard copyright notice that clearly states permission is required from the publisher for any reproduction of any part of the book. Do I need to get the permission of the publisher before I distribute the copies to my class?
A: It depends. It is clear that the referenced work has a copyright. Copyrighted material can ordinarily be legally copied in one of two ways. The first is to get the permission of the copyright owner. However, such permission is not required if the copying qualifies under the fair use doctrine. Federal copyright law permits the copying of copyrighted material for teaching, scholarship, or research purposes IF such use can be considered "fair" when analyzed using four factors: (1) whether the "purpose" is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the "nature" of the work - ordinarily, "factual" works are granted less protection than "creative" works; (3) the "amount" of the portion of the work to be used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the "market effect" on the purchasing or value of the copyrighted work that could have a negative impact depriving the copyright owner of revenue. As a general rule, if it is doubtful the copying of a copyrighted work is within the fair use exception to the copyright law, the permission of the copyright owner should be obtained.