Professor Littrell is teaching a summer seminar in business torts at State University. Several times during the course, he makes copies of relevant sections from business law texts and distributes them to his students. Littrell does not realize that the daughter of one of the textbook authors is a member of his seminar. She tells her father about Littrell’s copying activities, which have taken place without her father’s or his publisher’s permission. Her father sues Littrell for copyright infringement. Littrell claims protec-tion under the fair use doctrine. Who will prevail? Explain. Solution Fair use doctrine limits the exclusive rights granted to the people under Copyright Act. According to this doctrine, copying should not be completely banned for socially important endeavors like criticism, research, teaching and reporting. Following factors are crucial to determine the fair use of a copyright material: Purpose and character of using the material Nature of the copyrighted work The portion of material copied from the original source The impact of using the material on the potential market of the copyrighted work. In this case, Littrell could claim protection under the fair use doctrine due to the following reasons: Littrell was using the material for purely educational purpose. The copyrighted work was published and it is a subjective book. He does not copy the entire material. Instead he used several sections from the books. The copying and distribution of several sections from the textbook would not impact the potential market of the copyrighted material..

1. Professor Littrell is teaching a summer seminar in business torts at State University. Several
times during the course, he makes copies of relevant sections from business law texts and
distributes them to his students. Littrell does not realize that the daughter of one of the textbook
authors is a member of his seminar. She tells her father about Littrell’s copying activities, which
have taken place without her father’s or his publisher’s permission. Her father sues Littrell for
copyright infringement. Littrell claims protec-tion under the fair use doctrine. Who will prevail?
Explain.
Solution
Fair use doctrine limits the exclusive rights granted to the people under Copyright Act.
According to this doctrine, copying should not be completely banned for socially important
endeavors like criticism, research, teaching and reporting.
Following factors are crucial to determine the fair use of a copyright material:
Purpose and character of using the material
Nature of the copyrighted work
The portion of material copied from the original source
The impact of using the material on the potential market of the copyrighted work.
In this case, Littrell could claim protection under the fair use doctrine due to the following
reasons:
Littrell was using the material for purely educational purpose.
The copyrighted work was published and it is a subjective book.
He does not copy the entire material. Instead he used several sections from the books.
The copying and distribution of several sections from the textbook would not impact the
potential market of the copyrighted material.