Laboratory Technology, Medical Assisting, Pharmacy Technology, and Phlebotomy: Copyright

Definitions of Fair Use:

• From Dictionary:  "A legal doctrine that portions of copyrighted materials may be used without permission of the copyright owner provided the use is fair and reasonable, does not substantially impair the value of the materials, and does not curtail the profits reasonably expected by the owner " - "Fair use."  Merriam-Webster.  Web.  9 Sept. 2015.  <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fair%20use>

• From Online Resource:  Fair use is a legal concept that allows the reproduction of copyrighted material for certain purposes without obtaining permission and without paying a fee or royalty. Purposes permitting the application of fair use generally include review, news reporting, teaching, or scholarly research. The idea of fair use originally arose for written works. But with the advent of digital technology and the Internet, fair use has sometimes been applied to the redistribution of musical works, photographs, videos, and computer programs.

  The limits of fair use are not always clear. Fair use may (but does not always) include the reproduction of a song or photograph to give to a single relative or friend as a gift. If you intend to make a profit by reproducing and reselling a copyrighted work or part thereof, that does not normally constitute fair use.  Other factors include the size or extent of the passage or material reproduced, the length of time for which the material will be used, the number of copies of the reproduced work that will be distributed, and the effect of the use on the market value of the original copyrighted work.

  Anyone in doubt about whether a given activity constitutes fair use of a copyrighted work should consult an attorney. It may be faster and simpler to request permission of the copyright owner." - "Fair use."  WhatIs.com.  Web.  9 Sept. 2015. <http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/fair-use>

• From U.S. Copyright Office:  "Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use. Section 107 calls for consideration of the following four factors in evaluating a question of fair use:

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a 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 fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors." -  "More Information on Fair Use."   Copyright.gov.  Web.  9 Sept. 2015.  http://copyright.gov/fair-use/more-info.html

Common Sense Media:  Copyright And Fair Use Animated Video

Understanding Fair Use in a Digital World Video

"Students meet ELA Common Core State Standards by analyzing video remixes to judge whether or not they fall under fair use. Students learn complex concepts to evaluate visual content and present supporting evidence."  Moral of the video?  If middle school children can master this, so can you!

Here is an easy way to break down the elements of Fair Use in any situation you must evaluate!

First, define the guiding principle:

"FAIR USE: The ability to use copyrighted work without permission, but only in certain ways and in specific situations(schoolwork and education, news reporting, criticizing or commenting on something, and comedy/parody)."

Second, break down the situation into its components of purpose and use:

• "The inside of the diamond lists the situations in which fair use can be applied.
• Each point of the diamond lists a certain way that you can use copyrighted work for fair use.
• If a creative work:
  • falls into at least one of the situations inside the diamond,
  • and if it fulfills one of the criteria at the four points of the diamond,
  • there’s a good chance it’s fair use!"

Note:  This is the same method used in the classroom by middle school children in an exercise to learn about Fair Use. 

See the online video Understanding Fair Use in A Digital World, also on this page of the guide.  

It's always a good idea to use copyright free resources, which require no licensing and, sometimes, do not require attribution (i.e. a citation). 

These materials can be found online in creative commons sites, such as:

• creativecommons.org
• https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Main_Page (particularly useful for images)

Here is an example of refining a Google search to locate materials with various levels of usage rights, including those you may reuse with no licensing or attribution required:

• Enter a search term into the Google search box and click to Search

• Click the Images category

• Click the Tools button to open a list of options
• Click the arrow to open the Usage rights drop-down menu

• Click one of the Usage rights options

• Click an image in the results display
• Follow the instructions on the image site to copy or download and attribute the image