Copyright & Fair Use Policy

I rate myself as a 2 when it comes to copyright issues before this lesson. After viewing the Fair Use Policy at NCAT, I rate it at a 4. I feel that the University did a good job at explaining their policies well. However, I feel that their guidelines can go a little more in depth for students who may have disabilities or have conflict understanding the language and its meanings. They do provide adequate direction in their Fair Use Policy to maintain what is necessary. Three key facts and guidelines I find most useful are as follows.

1. Fair Use is a principle within copyright law that allows the limited use, for limited purposes, of copyrighted material without permission of the copyright holder.


2.  In determining fair use, four factors are considered:

• Purpose:  the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
• Nature:  the nature of the copyrighted work
• Amount:  the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
• Effect:  the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

3. Fair Use is analyzed on a case-by-case basis. Fair use is extremely important to educators, but not all fair use cases are educational in nature and not all educational uses will be fair. To determine if your intended use of a work is fair, you must balance the use based on the four factors above. If your responses weigh in favor of fair use, then you may use the material without obtaining permission from the copyright holder. If your responses weigh against fair use, then you are best advised to obtain permission for the use.

I feel that the definition of the Fair Use Policy should be first understood and known before anything. The meaning must be explained and understood before all factors can be considered for educators as well as the students to ensure they are following and abiding by the guidelines. Secondly, I feel the four factors to be considered must be known and understood as well. This will ensure students know how their works and referencing should be. So many individuals violate the rules and procedures of the Fair Use Policy due to their lack of understanding and knowing the meaning and the principles involved.

http://libguides.library.ncat.edu/content.php?pid=194117&sid=1706584