Assignment 3 Fair Use

Daniel Messer
3/14/2015
LIS 772
According to the US Copyright Office (2012), The distinction between what is fair use
and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. The
reason for this is that there is nowhere in the law or case law that spells out what is and is not fair
use. According to the US Copyright Office (2012), four factors determine what fair use is; how
the work is used, how much of the work is used, how it affects the work, and what the work is in
the first place; all of this is laid out in section 107 of US copyright law. This is the section of
copyright law that governs quotes and the use of sections of copyrighted works for instructional
purposes. For example a professor making a copy of a chapter of a book for an assigned reading;
this gets a little murkier when the professor copies more than a chapter, the meat of the book, or
puts said material online. But how does this apply to libraries? Interlibrary loan is already
protected under section 108 [which] allowed libraries and archives to make certain uses of
copyrighted materials to serve the public and ensure the availability of works (Blixrud, 2011,
545). Libraries can run afoul of fair use through their e-reserve system. It was over its e-reserve
system that according to Medeiros (2011), Cambridge University Press, Oxford University
Press, and Sage Publications filed suit against [Georgia State University] (p. 260). The materials
on the Georgia State Universitys e-reserve were viewable without a login and were an over
generous interpretation of fair use. According to Hansen (2013), the Georgia State University
Litigation, which is specifically focused on the institution's responsibility to implement and
enforce copyright law in its e-reserves system (p. 70).

Assignment 3 Fair Use

Libraries can also run into copyright problems when it comes to their special collections.
The reason for this is according to Buttler (2012), is that if the information needed to find the
copyright holder of an orphan work doesnt exist anymore than the library cant get permission
to make the work accessible to scholars (p. 288). This issue because even more pronounced when
we look at the well-funded lobbies that are pushing for copyright extensions; a while ago Disney
got the copyright on works extended to 120 years for corporate authorship.
I agree with Buttlers (2012), statement managing copyright and the changing legal
landscape for libraries is central to the library communitys long-term survival (p. 291). The
library community should be at the forefront of the fight to protect fair use and to ensure
reasonable copyright protections for authors. Furthermore, the academic library should attempt
to know the copyright status of every work in its collection. As daunting a task as this seems it is
in the best interest of the librarys long term future. More so, librarians should do their best to
stay up to date on copyright law so that they can help their institution to avoid getting sued. This
would add additional value to the library and could help to shelter it in times of budgetary stress.
Copyright law is one of those things that as librarians we should know but dont. The
reason for this is that copyright law is a nearly impenetrable maze. Thought the only two sections
that really matter to libraries are sections 107 and 108. I feel that this is an area that all librarians
need to take the time to better understand what is and is not fair use.

Assignment 3 Fair Use

Reference List
Buttler, D. K., (2012). Intimacy Gone Awry: Copyright and Special Collections. Journal of
Library Administration, 52, 279-293. DOI: 10.1080/01930826.2012.684506
Blixrud, J. C. (2011). Scholarly Communication and Public Policies: The Experience of the
Association of Research Libraries. Journal of Library Administration, 51, 543556. DOI:
10.1080/01930826.2011.589326
Hansen, D. R., Cross, W. M., & Edwards, P. M. (2013). Copyright Policy and Practice in
Electronic Reserves among ARL Libraries. College & Research Libraries, 74(1), 69-84.
Retrieved from http://crl.acrl.org/
Medeiros, N. (2011). Point of No Return? Fair Use on Trial. OCLC Systems & Services:
International digital library perspectives, 27(4), 260-263.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/10650751111182551
U.S. Copyright Office. (2012). Fair Use (LOC Publication No. FL-102). Retrieved from
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html