Comments on: What Sarah Said: Episode 1 – Copyright Trifecta

By: Katie Fortney

Katie Fortney — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 20:40:05 +0000

I’m late the to the party, but there are a lot of instances in which copying a single article – whether or not you’re an educator – could be fair use. [Disclaimer: yes, I'm a librarian-lawyer, no this is not legal advice.] There’s a big difference between copying one article you’re interested in and systematically copying numerous articles from the same publication. There’s also a difference between making one copy of something on the one hand and posting a copy on the internet on the other.
Both of those come into play when considering the fourth fair use factor, effect on the market. If you’ve got personal, noncommercial use and minimal market effect weighing on one side, and creative material (depending on the magazine) on the one side, it could go either way. That you’re copying a whole article isn’t necessarily fatal – courts also look at whether the amount is what’s necessary to your purpose. If it’s mostly a factual article, it’s even a stronger fair use argument.
When it’s fair use, it’s not infringement. It’s not “infringement, but a fair use one.”
Another good thing to know for educators – although I suspect most of them do already – is the specific exemption for “public performance” (i.e. playing a movie to a room full of people) in the case of classroom use in section 110(1). No help for a fundraiser, but there you go. Kenneth Crews recently had an interesting series of blog posts on when a performance becomes “public.” http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/2011/05/02/copyright-qa-movies-in-the-dormitory/

Probably more detail than is ideal for a quick 1/3 of a “What Sarah Said,” but in case anyone gets here later via The Googles and finds it helpful…

By: Sarah

Sarah — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 21:06:55 +0000

Hi Suzanne! Thanks for stopping by! We co-own the subscription only in that we can pass the original around, one person at a time. But multiple copying would be wrong if it was roommates or if it was library patrons. Just because you co-own something doesn’t mean you can make copies of it for every co-owner.

Megan – I don’t think I’ve ever been asked by a patron if he or she could make a magazine article copy. If I was asked, I would probably say “Err, it’s technically a violation of copyright but I’m going to go look over here for a while so if a copy was made without my knowledge the world wouldn’t end.” Now, is that a good, legal response? No, probably not. But it’s realistic…and I’m trying to bring a little more reality into my library.

By: Suzanne

Suzanne — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 19:43:40 +0000

Hi, Suzanne chiming in here.

Yes, I was speaking of “personal copies” as ”I don’t want to pay for a subscription to Architectural Digest, so I’ll just make copies of the articles I want out of the library’s copy.” BUT – a patron brought up this argument and I don’t know hwo to dispute it – since the subscriptions are paid for with our tax money, do we not all “own” the subscription? Is it any different than if me and three of my artsy roommates chipped in for a subscription, and we all “co-owned” it?

Thanks to everyone who’s posting these links, this is exactly what I wanted.

By: Megan

Megan — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:53:30 +0000

About playing movies in your school – here is a website that we used at the library I used to work at to determine if we could show a particular movie or not:

http://www.movlic.com/

Also, for those that work in libraries – what do you tell patrons when they ask if they can make a photocopy of a magazine article?

By: Mixed Messages and Copyright: A Reflection « The Knowledge Function

Mixed Messages and Copyright: A Reflection « The Knowledge Function — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 20:08:26 +0000

[...] at the Librarian In Black blog today, Sarah Houghton posted a video in which she answered three questions about copyright violation. I’m not sure when I learned that creating a mixtape was technically illegal, but I remember [...]

By: Brad Matthies

Brad Matthies — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:44:44 +0000

Sarah,

By personal use does she mean for a research paper? If so she can make a fair use argument. If not, she probably still can make the argument….

http://books.google.com/books?id=7xTvCPlBXDQC&lpg=PT343&ots=IryKaPDcmo&dq=copy%20single%20article%20personal%20use%20student%20copyright&pg=PT343#v=onepage&q=copy%20single%20article%20personal%20use%20student%20copyright&f=false

Speaking of good resources:

http://librarycopyright.net/fairuse/

I used a single article from a journal as my test. Intended use is for a hypothetical research paper. I even weighed amount in the negative (i.e. “opposing fair use”) and still came out safe.

Ultimately Suzanne needs to consider the “four factors” within the context of her intended use. As I tell students and faculty: Each fair use evaluation is like a snowflake.

http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html

I should also say that this is just my opinion and is not to be interpreted as legal advice.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:18:08 +0000

@Brad – The brochure you link to (which is a good resource for educators to know about – thanks!) is talking specifically about exemptions for educational, classroom, and library use. Maybe I am misunderstanding what Suzanne and you mean by “personal” use, but I’m thinking something along the lines of…”I don’t want to pay for a subscription to Architectural Digest, so I’ll just make copies of the articles I want out of the library’s copy.” Or “Ooh, this is a great article in the Sudan. I’m going to make a copy out of my magazine and give that copy to my friend Brittany.” I still read that as not falling under fair use.

By: Brad Matthies

Brad Matthies — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:13:13 +0000

I’m fairly certain you can copy a single article or book chapter from a printed book for personal use. It’s basically a fair use argument.

See the government’s own brochure:

http://www.copyright.gov/circs/circ21.pdf

Brad

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:07:58 +0000

@C.M. – You are correct. Fair use is an exception to pretty much everything I just said. If you’re showing a film to be followed by analysis, critique, etc. then it is okay. But, let’s say you just show the movie “Elf” because it’s the holidays. That’s no good. Thanks for the clarification/question!

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:06:51 +0000

@Andromeda – Thanks for the transcription! I’ve actually copied the text up into the main blog post (with credit, of course). I promise to transcribe all future episodes myself. Thank you for the idea, and for getting the ball rolling!