using copyrighted works
Using Copyrighted Works
"Only one thing is impossible for God: To find any sense in any copyright law on the planet."
Mark Twain
Copyright law evokes any number of adjectives from those attempting to understand and/or apply it. Many of those adjectives are negative, especially on university campuses, due to the pervasive sense that copyright is primarily a set of rules to prevent faculty and students from using the materials that they need for their classes. Few view copyright as an opportunity to accomplish their goals lawfully.
However, the negative, always-get-permission view leads nowhere fast. You simply do not have the money or the time to always search out the copyright holder and pay permission fees for each piece of the enormous amounts of scholarly materials essential for excellent teaching and research. Even Congress recognized that such an approach wouldn't work and, therefore, established the educational exceptions and fair use in the copyright act. They could see the obvious: that a robust educational system was not only good for the U.S. economy but also the best way to advance the primary purpose of copyright, which is stated expressly in the Constitution. Article I, section 8, clause 8. It provides that Congress shall have the power: "to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries." "It is the only clause in the grant of powers to Congress that has a stated purpose." ( Quoted from a very interesting article, "The Purpose of Copyright" by Lydia Pallas Loren, Associate Professor of Law, Northwestern School of Law, Open Spaces Quarterly, 2008)
What CAN you lawfully do other than get permissions? LOTS and this site will hopefully help you identify those things. However, if you do not see your situation addressed here, please feel free to contact me, Peggy Hoon.