Copyright, Fair Use, & Author Rights: UC Resources

Single Copying for Teachers:
A Single copy can be made of the following:

• A chapter of a book
• An article from a periodical or newspaper
• A short story, short essay or short poem
• A chart, graph, diagram, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical or newspaper

Single copies can be made by teachers for scholarly research, use in teaching, and preparation to teach a class

Multiple Copies for Classroom Use
Multiple copies may be made of the following:

• Poetry: a complete poem if less than 250 words, or an excerpt of not more than 250 words from a longer poem.
• Prose: a complete article, story or essay if less than 2,500 words, or an excerpt of not more than 2,500 words from any prose work.
• Illustrations: One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue. Some illustrations cannot be reproduced under fair use.

Copies can be used in only one course per class term.

Only one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author; only 3 from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.

No more than 9 instances of multiple copying for any one course during one class term.

Number of copies cannot exceed one copy per pupil in a course.

Copying Prohibitions:
No copying of "consumable" works (e.g. workbooks and tests).

Copying should not substitute for the purchase of works.

Copying that Requires Permission:

• Copying for profit
• Unpublished works
• Special works, i.e. some illustrations

Situations not covered by UC Guidelines
The doctrine of fair use may permit reproduction of copyrighted works in excess of the above limit restrictions. In these cases, users must analyze the four factors of fair use in order to conclude a copying activity is permitted. If after this analysis it is determined that the intended use is not permissible under fair use, permission should be sought from the copyright owner. If it is unclear whether copying would require permission from the copyright owner, guidance should be requested from the Office of General Counsel.

See the new (2015) Copyright & Fair Use Policy:
Copyright & Fair Use Policy