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Fair Use and Copyright

The office for Academic Affairs requires faculty, staff and students to comply with the “Fair Use” standards of Section 107 of the Federal Copyright Law Revision of 1976 and the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2002.

The MSMC Guidelines for Fair Use and Copyright Compliance were developed to assist faculty in using copyrighted materials responsibly. These guidelines can be found in the “Academics” section of the College website and also on the Curtin Memorial Library website. They provide additional information and resources on copyright, public domain, fair use, and the TEACH Act, as well as practical tips and checklists that will help faculty understand the provisions of copyright as they apply in educational settings. Faculty are expected to consult the Guidelines as well as this section of the Handbook in making fair use determinations.

“Fair Use” is determined by the following factors: 1. the purpose and character of use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes, 2. the nature of the copyrighted work, 3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the Copyrighted work as a whole, and 4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The limitations and conditions of copyright and fair use do not apply to works in the public domain – property rights that belong to the community at large such as the United States or state government’s or those for which copyright has expired or for which there are no copyright restrictions. Also, license agreements may govern the uses of some works and users should refer to the applicable license terms for guidance.

The Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization (TEACH) Act of 2002 works in conjunction with fair use and expands the requirements of the law to teaching students at a distance via electronic means.

The TEACH Act requirements that fall in purview of the instructor:

  1. The work to be transmitted electronically is one of the following;
    • A performance of a non-dramatic literary work; or
    • A performance of a non-dramatic musical work; or
    • A performance of any other work, including dramatic works and audiovisual works, but only in “reasonable and limited portions”; or
    • A display in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of live classroom sessions.
  2. The work is not marketed primarily for performance or display as part of a digitally transmitted mediated instructional activity.
  3. The work to be used is not a textbook, course pack, or other material in any media which is typically purchased or acquired by students for their independent use and retention.
  4. The performance or display is:
    • Made by, at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic, mediated instructional activities of the educational institution; and
    • Is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and
    • The instructor does not know or have reason to believe that a copy of the work to be transmitted was not lawfully made or acquired.
  5. If the work to be used has to be converted from print or another analog version to digital format:
    • The amount of the work converted is no greater than the amount that can lawfully be used for the course; and
    • There is no digital version of the work available to the institution or the digital version available to the institution has technological protection that prevents its lawful use for the course.

The TEACH Act requirements that fall in the purview of the College:

  • Mount Saint Mary College will provide information describing and promoting United States copyright laws in faculty and student handbooks on the MSMC website as well as in other College publications both printed and electronic.
  • Mount Saint Mary College through its system of class registration has limited the electronic transmission to students officially enrolled in the courses for which the transmission is made.

Mount Saint Mary College directs all faculty and staff to comply with the following TEACH ACT requirements:

  • Take technological measures to reasonably prevent retention of any work in accessible form by students for longer than the class session; and unauthorized further dissemination of the work in accessible form by such recipients to others;
  • Avoid any conduct that could reasonably be expected to interfere with technological measures used by copyright owners to prevent retention or dissemination of their works.
  • Store works on a system or network that is not ordinarily accessible to anyone other than anticipated recipients.
  • Maintain material on a system or network only as long as is reasonably necessary to facilitate the transmissions.
  • Use and retain copies of the work solely for use as part of the educational mission of the College.