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Under certain circumstances,
works protected by copyright may be used without seeking
permission or paying a fee. "Usage" includes
copying, quoting, displaying, performing, and transmitting
over an electronic medium. The exemptions are often closely
tied to the particulars of the use (e.g., intent, amount,
context of the usage).
Several sections of the Copyright
Law address these usage exemptions. These sections are
- Fair Use (Section 107)
- Library (Section 108)
- Classroom Performance (Section 110(1))
- TEACH Act (Section 110(2)).
Fair use (Section
107) is both the most powerful and flexible of the
exemption sections. It is used frequently by students,
educators, researchers, reviewers and reporters. See the Fair Use section for
additional detail.
Libraries and archives have their own set
of exemptions found in Section
108. These are used under particular circumstances
when a library copies a work from its own collection or
is participating in an interlibrary loan. Go to the Librarians section for more on this topic.
Section
110(1) addresses classroom exemptions for the performance
and display of copyright protected works. As with the
classroom exemptions for fair use, it applies only to
nonprofit educational institutions.
The TEACH Act revised Section
110(2) of the Copyright Law. It allows the digital
transmission of copyrighted works in a distance learning
environment (e.g., Blackboard/Vista) as long as certain
requirements are met. Refer to The
TEACH Act in the Faculty section for more information.
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