Faculty Resources

In education and research contexts, fair use limits the exclusive rights of copyright holders by allowing educators, scholars, and students to use copyrighted materials under certain conditions without seeking permission from the copyright holder. To assess whether a use is fair, U.S Copyright Law (Section 107) provides four factors for determination:

1. The purpose or 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.

Use in a nonprofit educational or research setting does not inherently indicate fair use. Faculty, staff, and students should educate themselves on the principles of copyright and fair use. Faculty, staff, and students should also use good judgment and assess the nature of their use of copyrighted materials based on the four factors identified above.

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What's a Creative Commons License? 

Creative Commons allows users to copy, share, edit, mix, keep and use resources freely, though with some stipulations like attribution, how/if it can be altered, and if charging a payment is allowed.  The info graphic below explains how Creative Commons works, in regards to the levels of use and requirements for those using, sharing, mixing, editing, keeping or copying resources available through the Creative Commons license. For guidance on attributing materials with CC licenses, see these instructions on giving proper attribution from Creative Commons: