The Copyright Act of 1976 grants a number of exclusive rights to copyright holders, including:

• Reproduction rights
• Distribution rights
• Right to create derivative works
• Public performance rights
• Public display rights

Even so, there are legal exceptions to these rights, within limitations, that allow for the use of copyrighted work without prior permission of the copyright holder.

Some works are intended to be shared, within certain limitations.  Creative Commons licenses allow content creators to do just that. 

Learn about Creative Commons.

Search for Creative Commons works.

Here are three options for the lawful use of copyrighted works without prior permission from the copyright holder.  These exceptions to the exclusive rights of copyright holders are written into the Copyright Act of 1976.
 

1) "Fair Use" as outlined in section 107.  The Fair Use exemption can apply in a variety of situations, including some which are non-educational.

• Allows the copying or distribution of copyrighted work, without prior permission from the copyright holder, for purposes such as criticism, commentary, news reporting, parody, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), and scholarship.
• This exception requires that you weigh four factors to determine Fair Use.
  1. The purpose and character of the use
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work
  3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyright-protected work as a whole (even if it is a small amount, if it is "the heart of the work," the use may still be considered a copyright violation)
  4. The effect of the use on the potential market value of the copyright-protected work.
• Use the Fair Use Checklist; a tool for analyzing the four factors and determining Fair Use.

2) "Face-to-Face Teaching" as outlined in section 110(1).

• Allows performance or display by instructors or students of copyrighted material, such as legal copies of books, articles, photographs, music and film, in a face-to-face teaching situation, without prior permission of the copyright owner.
• This exception requires that the following criteria be met:
• Must be in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction.
• Must involve in-person, face-to-face teaching.
• Must be at a nonprofit educational institution.
• If all three criteria are not met, consider whether Fair Use might be a better fit.
• "Face-to-Face Teaching" covers performance and display rights and does not apply to making multiple copies for classroom use.  Copying may still be allowed under Fair Use, however that must be determined as a separate exception.

3) "The TEACH Act" as outlined in sections sections 110(2) and 112(f).  It is different from "Face to Face Teaching" and covers situations that may occur in the digital environment.

• Allows the digital transmission of performances and displays of copyrighted work in distance learning and course management systems, without prior permission of the copyright owner, as part of synchronous and asynchronous instruction.
• This exception requires that your institution adheres to all technology and institutional policy criteria listed in the TEACH Act in order to claim it as an exception.  Cornish will qualify when the college Copyright Policy is completed and posted online; expected fall 2016.
• This exception requires that instructors adhere to certain limitations:
  • The work transmitted is one of the following:
    • A performance of a non-dramatic literary work; or
    • A performance of a non-dramatic musical work; or
    • A performance of any other work, including dramatic works and audiovisual works, but only in “reasonable and limited portions”; or
    • A display in an amount comparable to that which is typically displayed in the course of a live classroom session.
  • The work is not marketed primarily for performance or display as part of a digitally transmitted mediated instructional activity.
  • The work to be used is not a textbook, course pack, or other material in any media which is typically purchased or acquired by students for their independent use and retention.
  • The performance or display is:
    • Made by, at the direction of, or under the actual supervision of an instructor “as integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the systematic, mediated instructional activities” of the educational institution; and
    • Is directly related and of material assistance to the teaching content of the transmission; and
    • Is an integral part of a class session offered as a regular part of the “systematic, mediated instructional activities” of the educational institution.
  • The instructor does not know or have reason to believe that the copy of the work to be transmitted was not lawfully made or acquired.
  • If the work to be used has to be converted from print or another analog version to digital format:
    • The amount of the work converted is no greater than the amount that can lawfully be used for the course; and
    • There is no digital version of the work available to the institution or the digital version available to the institution has technological protection that prevents its lawful use for the course.
  • Access must be restricted to students registered in the course.
  • Students must be notified that material is protected.
  • Materials may not be retained after the course is over.

"Public Domain" defines works that are not covered by copyright, trademark, or patent laws for a variety of reasons as outlined in sections 301-305 of the Copyright Act.

There are four common ways that works wind up in the public domain:

• the copyright has expired
• the copyright owner failed to renew copyright
• the copyright owner deliberately places it in the public domain, or
• copyright law does not protect this type of work.

In the United States, all works published prior to 1923 are automatically in the public domain because the copyright has expired. Works published after this date may or may not be in the public domain depending on whether the copyright was renewed.

Use the Copyright Slider to help you find out whether a work is in the public domain or not.

See also, Public Domain overview at Stanford University Libraries.