Copyright and Fair Use

Copyright and Fair Use at UC Davis

While copyright law is fairly simple to state, applying it can be complicated because the result varies depending on the particular facts of each situation, such as what you want to do, whether the material was created as part of a job – even whether it had a copyright notice when it was published.

The UC Davis Office of Research has created a very thorough website, and we encourage you to visit it for more information. We culled through it and are highlighting areas most relevant to working with pre-recorded content whose intent is to be reused for multiple offerings of a course within a calendar year. Additional resources can also be found through UCOP (https://copyright.universityofcalifornia.edu/ Links to an external site. )

As this is a lot of information, please work with your instructional designer or program person, if you aren't sure. When in doubt, ask for permission.

What works are protected by copyright?

Copyright protects “original works of authorship” that are “fixed in any tangible medium of expression…” This means literary works, including software and web pages; musical works (including words); dramatic works (including music); pantomimes and choreography; pictorial, graphic and sculptural works; motion pictures and audiovisual works; sound recordings; and architecture.

Ephemeral works such as unrecorded speech, music or dance are not fixed in a tangible medium and so are not protected by copyright, although the prewritten text to a lecture would be. A simple way to protect your creativity is to record it!

Material that is not eligible for copyright protection includes ideas, facts, procedures, processes, systems, and concepts, although those might be patentable; nor titles, short phrases, and names, which might be trademarks; nor works containing no original authorship, works with expired copyrights, and works created by U.S. government employees in the performance of their jobs. Material that is not protected by copyright is in the Public Domain Links to an external site. and can be freely used, including for the creation of new copyright-protected works.

Copyright in the classroom

United States copyright law provides important exceptions to the rights of copyright holders that are specifically aimed at nonprofit educational institutions and libraries. Three provisions of the copyright statute are of particular importance to teachers and researchers:

Teachers and students have certain rights to publicly display and perform copyrighted works in the classroom (Section 110 of U.S. Copyright Law Links to an external site.).
Libraries and archives have special exemptions for the reproduction of copyrighted works in some circumstances (Section 108 of US Copyright Law Links to an external site.).
The "fair use Links to an external site." allows limited copying of copyrighted works without the permission of the owner for certain purposes, including teaching and research (Section 107 of US Copyright Law Links to an external site.). Please note that fair use in no way guarantees legal use of materials simply because we are in an educational setting.

The fair use exception is purposefully broad and flexible, which may make some members of the UC community uncomfortable relying on it. To provide some assistance, the University of California offers the following guidance for fair use in teaching and research. The suggestions do not ensure that your use will be protected under fair use, but represent practices commonly considered to be fair use.

Copying that does not fall within the guidelines stated may nonetheless be permitted under fair use. If a proposed use is not covered by the guidelines, you should analyze the particular facts of your situation against the four factors of fair use. Please click here for common considerations of fair use in the classroom Links to an external site..

Online, Hybrid, and Blended Education

Congress passed a law, known as the TEACH Act Links to an external site., that permits the use of copyrighted works for online and distance education in limited circumstances. The requirements for compliance are somewhat complex, and the TEACH Act should be considered as one of several options available to instructors when using copyrighted works in their distance education courses. Please note the TEACH ACT in no way guarantees legal use of materials simply because we are in an educational setting.

Instructors often wonder when it’s okay to use copyrighted works when teaching. As explained on this site’s “Copyright in the classroom Links to an external site.” page, United States copyright law provides important exceptions to the rights of copyright holders that are specifically helpful for teaching. When classes move online, using copyrighted works for pedagogical purposes is often legal for the same reasons it’s legal for in-person classes.

Click here for some tips Links to an external site. to keep in mind when thinking about copyright and online instruction.

What can I use?

The University of California encourages respect for the copyrights of content creators, and the thoughtful and permissible use of copyrighted materials by the public in accordance with U.S. copyright law.

Because the boundaries can be difficult to navigate, this site offers guidance for remaining within the bounds of fair use in teaching Links to an external site., as well as steps for obtaining the proper permissions Links to an external site..

Fair Use

Fair use Links to an external site. allows reproduction and other uses of copyrighted works – without requiring permission from the copyright owner – under certain conditions. In many cases, you can use copyrighted materials for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research.

Determining a work's copyright status

The charts below are intended as a guide to help you determine the status of a work and whether permission is needed.

Does your use of the work qualify as Fair Use?

Factors of Fair Use and when it is more likely to apply.
Four Factors of Fair Use:	Fair use is more likely when:
Purpose of your use	Transformative expression Educational/scholarly Research/reporting/criticism Non-profit
Nature of the copyrighted work to be used	Work is published Work is factual or non-fiction
Amount of the copyrighted work to be used	Small excerpt or clip Not the core of the work being used
Effect your use will have on the market value of the copyrighted work	Only a few copies made Little impact on reasonable markets for the work

Is the work protected by copyright?

Works that might not protected by copyright and some examples.
Work might not be protected by © in the US if it is:	Example works:
Facts, ideas, or short phrases	Temperature data Newtonian physics formulae Concept for a story Book titles
Older works in the public domain because of copyright expiration or formalities	Early silent films Mozart sheet music "A Tale of Two Cities"
Federal government works	Official NASA photos CIA Factbook USGS-authored maps

Do you have permission to use the work?

Creative common or other public license and should you ask for permission?
Creative Commons or other public licenses	Ask for permission
Owner provides advanced, blanket permission for the work to be used. A gotcha on these things, is that it depends on the person uploading the content to these types of sites actually being the owner of the copyright. It is not always the case, as people uploading don't always understand what it means. If in doubt, don't use it without more research or find different content.	If you need permission and there's no blanket license, you can try to contact the copyright owner. A step-by-step method in obtaining permissions Links to an external site.. Here are some example requests sent to obtain permissions.