Hall Davidson knows anything and everything about copyright and fair use for educators and even provides seminars for those who want to know how to survive without breaking the copyright law. Here are some of the great features of his website.

1. A cheat sheet that simplifies the wealth of information on what you can do and what you can't do. The website has a larger chart - but this is easier to view on your computer screen.
2. After you've spent a significant amount of time studying the chart, try your hand at Quiz 1.
3. Once you pass quiz 1, move on to Quiz 2.

Test 4 - Effects of Use on Market Value

Basically, if your use of a work is going to prevent or inhibit the author from making money off of the work or if it is going to devalue the work, then you will fail this test. The courts are very strict on this test - so don't try and weasel your way out of this one.
A few notable points:
1. Preventing or inhibiting the author from making money off of the work is very broad and the courts will look at all areas that the author can make money from the work.
For instance, say you absolutely love a book and write your own play of the book. Then, you have a local acting company perform it. You just took the author's right to turn the book into a play, and thus, there is the potential for loss of revenue. Even if the author never thought about turning the book into a play, there is always the possibility that they would have.
2. Anytime you use a work for something that is commercial, it is considered to adversely affect the value of the work.
If you set pictures of graduating high school senior in a slide show set to music, and then sell the DVDs at graduation, that is considered commercial - even if you don't turn a profit.
3. If you distribute a work so much that now no one wants or needs to buy the original work, then you are devaluing the market value of the work.

Something to think about:
If you make CDs of your favorite songs and distribute them to all your friends, can you argue that you're actually promoting the author's work?

Simpson, C. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, fourth edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

Test 3 - Amount of Work Used

This can be a little gray - but common sense may prevail.
The amount of material used cannot be a "significant" amount. So what is the gray area? It's the definition of significant. Common sense says what?
Is 100% of a work significant?
Is 75% of a work significant?
Is 50% of a work significant?
Is 30% of a work significant?
Is 5 % of a work significant?

If you had to make a generalization, what would you consider significant?

Simpson, C. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, fourth edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

Test 2 - Nature of Work

Test 2 also has 2 questions that need to be answered - they're a little more than yes/no answers. Here goes:
Question 1: Is the piece of work a creative piece or a factual piece?
This is important because you cannot protect facts - only a specific expression of facts.
If the work is creative, then it is protected.
Can you guess what is considered a creative work and what is considered a factual work?
A. A song
B. An encyclopedia
C. A novel
Question 2: Is the piece of work published or unpublished?
Which do you think would be more protected? Surprisingly an unpublished work has more protection because the author did not necessarily want the work to be seen by others.

Note: Remember that fair use is looked at as a whole test. Just because you pass/fail one part does not mean you pass/fail the whole test.
Can you think of any examples of works that are unpublished? I'm sure you have some of your own unpublished works. How could you use this question as a teachable moment in a classroom setting?

Simpson, C. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, fourth edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

Test 1 - Purpose of Use

Okay everyone - this ones easy
Question 1 - Are you using the material in a nonprofit public or private school?
Question 2 - Are you using the material for purposes of critiquing, commentating or news reporting?
You do not have to satisfy both of these questions to pass this test. Can you think of a school that would not pass question 1?

Simpson, C. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, fourth edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

The History of Fair Use

Hello Everyone,
Before I delve deeper into each aspect of fair use, I thought I should go through how fair use came about and the reasons why it is there. Of course, I stumbled on this information while I was searching out more specifics for each part of fair use. Anywho, fair use was not always part of the copyright law. The law was strict in protecting the rights of authors. However, it became apparent that people wanted to use certain material for educational purposes. Thus, the fair use law made exceptions for when copyrighted material could be used without actually violated the copyright law.
When finding out if something passes under fair use, all tests are considered as a whole, meaning not passing one test does not necessarily mean you can't use the copyrighted work. I will post later on this topic.
Resources:
Simpson, C. (2005). Copyright for Schools: A Practical Guide, fourth edition. Worthington, Ohio: Linworth Publishing, Inc.

What is Fair Use?

I'm an educator - who's been out of the field for some time now. Copyright is a big scary word to some educators. To others, they choose to pretend it doesn't exist. I think many educators have the 'don't ask, don't tell' policy going on. To be honest, I don't really know much about it. I mean, I know there is the Copyright Law. But how does that really affect me? I'm not sure. I know there's a 'fair use' part of the Law, but what is the definition of fair use? I'm on a mission to find out! My first stop - Copyright Law Section 107 aka "Fair Use".

Ah ha! My first clue - there are several purposes that are deemed "fair" for use of the reproduction of a piece of work. I see teaching as one of the purposes. Does that mean educators are off the hook? Not so fast, my eyes skim further down the text. There are fear factors - no, wait, four factors that act as a test to determine if a use is fair.
1. For what purpose is the work to be used?
2. What is the nature of the work to be used?
3. How much of the work is to be used?
4. How will use affect the market value (present or future) of the work?

My work is not done - I must find out more! Until next time my friends.