Portland State University Copyright Guide: Teaching with Copyrighted Materials
Remember Fair Use
This page sets out uses you can make of copyrighted material in teaching face to face and online. There are few bright lines in copyright law specifying allowed uses of copyrighted content. This page is intended to communicate exceptions in the copyright law for teaching in a nonprofit educational setting.
However, where the law doesn't provide explicit exceptions, you may be able to rely on fair use when you want to use material in ways that are not explicitly allowed. Use the fair use tools to conduct your analysis and be sure to keep a copy for your records.
Consider also that you may be able to get around the question of copyright all together by using material that is licensed with a Creative Commons license.
What can I do with various types of materials
| Type | Face to Face | Online |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter from a book |
Place print copy of a book on reserves at Library. If the Library has the ebook, put a persistent proxied link to the ebook in your readings list. Otherwise, use the Library’s e-reserves service which will digitize one chapter from a book to be put on e-reserves for your course. |
If the Library has the ebook, put a persistent proxied link to the ebook in your readings list. Otherwise, use the Library’s e-reserves service which will digitize one chapter from a book to be put on e-reserves for your course. |
| Article |
If the Library has electronic holdings for the journal, include a persistent proxied link to the article in your syllabus/readings list. Otherwise, you may use the Library’s e-reserves service to digitize one article from a journal issue |
If the Library has electronic holdings for the journal, put a persistent proxied link to the article in your syllabus/readings list Otherwise, you may use the Library’s e-reserves service to digitize one article from a journal issue. |
| YouTube | Linking to a YouTube video is OK. Be sure to attribute the creator. Do not use any video that you have any suspicion is not a legal copy. | Linking to a YouTube video is OK. Be sure to attribute the creator. Do not use any video that you have any suspicion is not a legal copy. |
| DVD | OK to watch in whole or in part provided the DVD is 'lawfully made'. |
Can you copy the DVD in order to stream the whole work? No. A portion may be copied in order to stream to students. To do this kind of copying, you will need to think through your purposes for including the content from the DVD. You should use the least amount necessary to serve your pedagogical purpose. Make notes about what that purpose is and how the portion you want to show addresses it. The TEACH Act specifically allows: "The performance of a nondramatic literary or musical work or reasonable and limited portions of any other work”; the DVD must be a legal copy and the content cannot be mediated educational programming. as long as “The performance or display is made by, at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor as an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic mediated instructional activities.“ |
| PSU Library-licensed streaming content | Yes. You can embed the link to the streamed content in your syllabus. Search the Library's streamed media holdings. | Yes. You can embed the link to the streamed content in your syllabus. Search the Library's streamed media holdings. |
| Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, etc. | No. Generally subscription streaming services' Terms of Use specify personal use only. | Students can use their own personal subscriptions to these services to access films, etc. |
| Image |
OK to show an image that you've included in your slide deck in the classroom setting, but better not to include that image in the slide deck when you load it to Canvas for the remainder of the term. Alternately, consult Library’s licensed image databases to see if there is content that will meet your needs. Another option would be to try to find an image using the Creative Commons Search. Otherwise, use of an image will require a fair use analysis. |
Consult Library’s licensed image databases to see if there is content that will meet your needs. Alternately try to find an image using the Creative Commons Search. Otherwise, use of an image will require a fair use analysis. |
| Figures | Generally fine with attribution. | Generally fine with attribution. |
| Music CD | Yes. |
See if you can use content available in the Library’s holdings of streaming music. If not, and copying is necessary, use the least amount required to serve your pedagogical purpose.
|
| Live music performance | Absolutely. | N/A |
| Sending content via email | It is always better to send a link to content rather than copying and sending. | It is always better to send a link to content rather than copying and sending. |
| Student work | To use student work outside the immediate context of the class for which it was created, secure the student’s permission in writing and keep that documentation | To use student work outside the immediate context of the class for which it was created secure the student’s permission in writing and keep that documentation |