Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
The first factor to consider is the purpose of the use. In this case the purpose is
strictly educational. This factor weighs in favor of fair use.
The second factor is the nature of the work being copied. The journal articles are
nonfiction. Again this weighs in favor of fair use.
The third factor is the amount of material being copied. The fact that the professor
is copying entire articles rather than brief excerpts weighs against a ruling of fair use.
The fourth factor is the effect the copying will have on the market for journal sales.
If the journal issues containing these articles are no longer for sale, then the professor's
actions cannot affect the market. The professor took care to prevent people outside the
class from accessing the articles. Overall, this factor appears to weigh in favor of fair use.
Three of the four factors weigh in favor of fair use. The professor's actions probably
constitute fair use of the copyrighted material.
FAIR USE EXAMPLE #2
An art professor takes slide photographs of a number of paintings reproduced in
a book about Renaissance artists. She uses the slides in her class lectures.
The first factor to consider is the purpose of the copying. The professor's purpose is
strictly educational. Hence the first factor weighs in favor of fair use.
The second factor is the type of material being copied. The material is art. Hence
this factor weighs against a ruling of fair use.
The third factor is the amount of material copied. In this case, the professor is
displaying copies of the paintings in their entirety. Fair use almost never allows a work to
be copied in its entirety. Note that even if the original painting is in the public domain,
the photograph of the painting appearing in the art book is probably copyrighted.
The final factor is the effect the copying will have on the market. The determination
of this factor would depend on how many images the professor took from any one
book and whether the publisher is in the business of selling slides of individual images
appearing in its book.
Overall, this professor's actions are less likely to be considered fair use than the
actions of the professor in the first scenario.
In 1975 Sony introduced its Betamax system, the first consumer VCR. People used these
systems to record television shows for viewing later, a practice called
time shifting
.Some
customers recorded entire movies onto videotape.
A year later, Universal City Studios and Walt Disney Productions sued Sony, say-
ing it was responsible for copyright infringements performed by those who had pur-
chased VCRs. The movie studios sought monetary damages from Sony and an injunc-
tion against the manufacturing and marketing of VCRs. The legal battle went all the way
to the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court evaluated the case in light of the four fair
use factors.
