LibAnswers

Fair Use is a guideline for how much of a work under copyright you may use without permission from the copyright owner.

There are four factors in determining Fair Use:

• The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
• The nature of the copyrighted work
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
• The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. 

WKU Libraries will provide scans of printed material, reserved for course use, for library faculty and students based upon the copyright restriction for educational use.   These restrictions fall under section 107 of title 17 of the United States Code and Copyright Act  and are as follows:

I. Single Copying for Teachers:  A single copy may be made of any of the following by or for a teacher at his or her individual request for his or her scholarly research or use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:
 
   a. A chapter from a book
   b. An article from a periodical or newspaper
   c. A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work
   d. A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper 

For more information about U.S. Copyright Law please visit Copyright.gov or see our Intellectual Property, Copyright, and Fair Use Guide.