Copyright Law Exceptions for Educational Purposes

Copyright protects original works of authorship.

When Congress passed the 1976 Copyright Act, it created exceptions for educators to use copyrighted material when teaching. These exceptions apply only to libraries and nonprofit schools.

Teacher's Copy

A teacher may make a single copy of an article from a magazine or newspaper; a short story, short essay or a short poem; a chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, magazine or newspaper; or a single chapter from a book.

Classroom Copies

A teacher can make multiple copies for classroom use, but the copying must meet certain requirements. Additionally, each copy must bear a copyright notice.

Prohibitions

Teachers may not copy "consumables"---workbooks, exercises and standardized tests; neither may teachers copy the same item, term after term.

Musical Works

Teachers may copy excerpts of musical works if the excerpts do not comprise what would be considered a performable section, such as a movement or an aria. The copy is limited to no more than 10 percent of the whole work.

Movies

A nonprofit educational institute can show a movie as part of "face-to-face" classroom teaching activity. The movie must be a legal copy and can be shown only to students officially enrolled in the course.

References

• U.S. Copyright Office: Reproduction of Copyrighted Works by Educators and Librarians
• U.S. Copyright Office: Can I Use Someone Else's Work? Can Someone Else Use Mine?
• U.S. Copyright Office: Limitations on Exclusive Rights: Exemption of Certain Performances and Displays

Resources

• Copyright Advisory Network: Exceptions for Instructors in U.S. Copyright Law
• U.S. Copyright Office: Copyright Law of the United States