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Effective: February 5, 2014
Policy Review Date: YEAR
Policy Executive: Provost and Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs
Responsible Office/Unit: Dean of Libraries
Policy Statement:
Applicability:
Content:
Policy
(1) The Copyright Act of 1976 (Title 17 U.S. Code) grants copyright owners the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, perform, and display their works.
(2) As a general rule, copying, distributing, making derivative works, displaying or performing copyright-protected work requires the permission of the copyright owner. However, copyright law provides several important exceptions to this rule. The best known exception to copyright owners’ exclusive rights is Fair Use.
(3) The principle of Fair Use has been developed through many court decisions and is codified in Section 107 of the copyright law. Section 107 sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether a particular item falls under Fair Use:
A. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.
B. The nature of the copyrighted work.
C. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.
D. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
(4) For purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, the use made of a copyrighted work is Fair Use and is not an infringement of copyright. For more information see https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/.
History:
Responsibility: Library Dean; Authority: Provost/VP for Academic and Student Life; Reviewed/Endorsed by Provost’s Council; 09-11-2013: Cabinet/UPAC;
Review/Effective Date: 02-05-2014; Approved by: James L. Gaudino, President
Housekeeping Update, January 13, 2025
Reformatted and Assigned new Policy Number - Previous Policy CWUP 5-120-040, June 2025