The following information is from the Alamo Colleges: Office of Legal Services-October 2010 "Copyright FAQs and Fair Use"
1) I am a professor of English. Can I distribute a copy of an article I found several years ago to every English 2332 class? I’m protected under educational fair use, right?
Answer:
Yes, you may use an article for your class but not every class. Generally, use of portions of a lawfully obtained copyrighted work, including multiple copies for face-to-face classroom use, is not an infringement of copyright. However, in this instance how the copy was “found” could be a factor and any copies distributed should be limited only to your specific classes - only after considering the Fair Use criteria and Checklist.
2) The textbooks I ordered for my classes have not arrived. (I want the library to copy the first two to three chapters of the textbook and put them on course reserve for my students – OR - I made copies of the first two to three chapters for my students). As long as I include the copyright information, I’m covered by fair use, true?
Answer:
Fair Use does not apply to materials which the students are required to purchase for the class. However, you could place a copy of the book on reserve for the student’s use until such time as the books are received.
3) I’ve compiled a stack of articles to use for my class and would like to put together a coursepack to sell to my students– this is “Fair Use” right?
Answer:
Reproducing and selling copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright holder or without compensating them in some way is a violation on copyright law. Additionally, if the materials are required for the course, then Fair Use would not apply. If you would like to use coursepacks for a class, you can obtain clearance from the publisher/copyright owner or work with a copy shop that will secure the appropriate permissions for you.
4) The bookstore doesn’t have enough copies of the workbook that accompanies their textbook. I want the library to copy the first couple of workbook pages and put it on course reserve for my students. Why does it matter that this is a workbook?
Answer:
Workbooks and similar works that are meant to be written in such as exam books, quizzes, etc. are “consumable works” excluded from Fair Use.
5) Can I scan articles and short stories for my students and put them on the web for my students?
Answer:
If you are teaching an online class and the articles/stories account for lawfully obtained materials that would otherwise be covered in a face-to-face classroom setting, then the content of the material should be evaluated for Fair Use applicability. If the materials meet Fair Use criteria, it is best to use only reasonable and limited portions of the work. Use of copyrighted materials in an online environment requires that safeguards are in place to ensure that the material is limited just to the students of the class and protected from redistribution. If the material is part of a textbook, is available for purchase, or required reading for the course, then you cannot copy or post the information for the students.