Questions about copyright? Not sure what counts as fair use? We have gotten a lot of these types of questions recently, and we wanted to provide some resources to help provide some guidance!
Copyright: General Information
Copyright Crash Course from the University of Texas Libraries – This collection of resources, assembled by UT Librarian Colleen Lyon, provides questions to such topics as “Who Owns What?”, “Fair Use,” and “Getting Permission.”
Copyright.gov – The website of the U.S. Copyright Office, this website provides government information on law and guidance as well as policy issues.
ALA Copyright Tools – The home of the Exceptions for Instructors eTool also includes the Public Domain Slider and the Section 108 Spinner.
Copyright for Libraries: ALA Resources – This libguide from ALA includes books on copyright information for K-12 librarians and additional resources about copyright.
Fair Use
Fair Use Evaluator – From Michael Brewer and the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy, this tool can be useful in determining if a work can be used under the Fair Use Doctrine.
Fair Use and Other Educational Uses – From the University of Chicago’s Copyright Information Center, this resource provides a Fair Use Checklist and a rules of thumb for determining if your use can be deemed “fair use.”
Copyright and Education
Copyright for Teachers – From Auburn University, this is a concise overview of copyright law for teachers and instructors.
The Educator’s Guide to Copyright and Fair Use – This five-part series from education world includes a section on district liability and teaching responsibility.
Copyright and Primary Sources – This informative resource from the Library of Congress is structured as an easy to read question and answer format.
Exceptions for Instructors eTool – Provides a way to think about if your intended use follows under educational use of copyrighted material under the U.S. Copyright Code.
We are currently exploring ways to provide additional education on copyright for Texas libraries – details will be posted here to our blog as soon as opportunities are finalized.
As a reminder, we are not lawyers and cannot provide legal assistance. Please refer to an intellectual property attorney or your library’s legal counsel for legal questions.
