Educational Fair Use and
Copyright
Kelly Dorsey
EME 5207
March 28, 2009
3/29/2009 Kelly Dorsey

It’s important to understand a few things before we
start:
An example of the use of media in education,
would be a teacher showing the class a video or
reading from a textbook. Since the material is used
for the same purpose it was originally intended (to
instruct or entertain), it will not have significant
copyright implications.
When copyright materials are transformed,
educators must understand fair use.
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Fair Use is the right to use copyrighted
material without permission or payment-especially
when cultural or social benefits of the use are
predominant.
The problem is that many educators are confused
about their rights and fearful. This can deter
educators from using certain materials which detracts
from quality teaching.
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4 things are taken into account
when assessing fair use:
1. the nature of the use
2. the nature of the work used
3. the extent of its use
4. economic effect
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There are two questions you should ask yourself
when deciding if something is fair use:
1. Did the unlicensed use transform the material by using it for a
different purpose that that of the original or did it just repeat the
work for the same intent and value as the original?
2. Was the material taken appropriate in kind and amount?
If the yes, it is fair use.
Most of the time, educators can make their own
decisions on fair use.
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Take all the facts and circumstances into
account to decide if an unlicensed use of
copyrighted material generates social or
cultural benefits that are greater than
the costs it imposes on the copyright
owner.
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Two key points to keep in mind:
Employing copyrighted material in media
literacy lessons and in curriculum lessons is
fair use. Just make sure to model referencing
and use only what is necessary for the
educational goal or purpose.
There are guidelines, but they are just
guidelines, and the power is given to the
educator to determine if something is fair use.
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The principles of fair use……..
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Apply to all forms of media
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Apply in institutional settings and
to non-school-based programs
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Concern the unlicensed fair use
of copyrighted materials for
education, not the way those
materials were acquired
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Are all subject to a “rule of
proportionality”
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Principles
ONE: EMPLOYING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN MEDIA LITERACY LESSONS
TWO: EMPLOYING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL IN PREPARING
CURRICULUM MATERIALS
THREE: SHARING MEDIA LITERACY CURRICULUM MATERIALS
FOUR: STUDENT USE OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIALS IN THEIR OWN ACADEMIC
AND CREATIVE WORK
FIVE: DEVELOPING AUDIENCES FOR STUDENT WORK
Main things to keep in mind: Educators should use only what is necessary for
the educational goal or purpose for which it is being made. In some cases, this
will mean using a clip or excerpt; in other cases,
the whole work is needed. Whenever possible, educators should provide proper
attribution and model citation practices that are appropriate to the form and
context
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COMMON MYTHS ABOUT FAIR USE
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MYTH: Fair Use is too unclear and
complicated for me; It’s better left to
lawyers and administrators
Educators know best what they
need to use to construct their
lessons and materials
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MYTH: Educators can rely on “rules
of thumb” for fair use guidance.
There are no cut and dry rules. Fair
use is situational and context is
critical.
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MYTH: School system rules are the
last word for educators.
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MYTH: Fair Use is just for critiques,
commentaries, and parodies.
Transformativeness, a key value in
fair use law, can involve modifying
material or putting material in a new
context, or both.
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MYTH: If I’m not making any money
off it, its fair use. (and if I am
making money off it, its not.)
Some public uses may be
unfair, even if no money is
exchanged.
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MYTH: Fair use is only a defense,
not a right.
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MYTH: Employing fair use is too
much trouble; I don’t want to fill out
any forms
You do not have to ask permission
or alert the copyright holder-if you
ask permission and get refused or
ignored, you can still claim fair use.
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MYTH: Fair use could get me sued.
That is VERY unlikely
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If you want more information on
Educational Fair Use, visit
http://online.education.ufl.edu/file
.php/3164/05DigitalCitizen/Code
ofBestPracticesinFairUse.pdf
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Now, lets learn about a
nonprofit corporation dedicated
to making it easier for people to
share and build upon the work of
others, consistent with the rules
of copyright. It’s called…….
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Creative Commons
http://creativecommons.org/
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Creative Commons lets you
know an authors’ intent.
You don’t have to be unsure
anymore of your risks and rights
to use something.
Standardized copyright licenses
free of charge.
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Click here to watch a movie
about Creative Commons
http://www.youtube.com
/watch?v=io3BrAQl3so
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Click the link for an example on how you
can use Flickr and Creative Commons
as an easy way to find resources to use
in your teaching.
http://www.screencast.com/users/KaraD/
folders/Jing/media/7233f311-59f7-46e6-
9c8a-8feb42803f60
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References
Code of best Practices in Fair Use For Media Literacy Education. Retrieved March 20, 2009
from
http://online.education.ufl.edu/file.php/3164/05DigitalCitizen/CodeofBestPracticesinFairUse.p
df
Creative Commons. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from www.creativecommons.org
Flickr. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from http://www.flickr.com/
Jing. Retrieved March 20, 2009 from
http://www.screencast.com/users/KaraD/folders/Jing/media/7233f311-59f7-46e6-9c8a-
8feb42803f60
3/29/2009 Kelly Dorsey