Copyright and Fair Use
Teaching Materials and Copyright - What or How Much Can I Use?
Copyright is a legal term describing ownership of control of the rights to the use and distribution of certain works of creative expression, including books, video, motion pictures, musical compositions and computer programs. Many educational uses may fall under what is called fair use. When the proposed use does not seem supported by the provisions of fair use, you will need to seek permission from the copyright owner. The evaluator tool below can help you analyze whether you need to seek copyright permission. The Copyright Crash Course also provides guidance and information.
- Fair Use EvaluatorThis robust online tool walks you thoroughly through the steps of determining if your intended use may fall under fair use or if you need to seek copyright permissions. It was created by Michael Brewer & the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy.
- Statement on the Best Practices of Fair Use of Images For Teaching, Research and Study (PDF)Created by the Visual Resources Association to provide guidance.
The Library Course Reserves Program
The Cal Poly Library has a program called Course Reserves to maximize access to required course materials that it owns or licenses. This use has copyright implications, which you can explore with the following resources.
- Fair Use For Professors FAQ (PDF)Solid guidance and clear explanations from the Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
- Intellectual Property, Fair Use, and the Unbundling of Ownership Rights (PDF)Office of General Counsel, California State University) (PDF document), also covers the fair use exemption, including a fair use factors checklist.
Using Film and Streaming Media In the Classroom
Streaming video content licensed by and available through Kennedy Library is fully available to stream in a classroom setting. (Be aware that permissions for public screenings in most cases need to be obtained separately.) It is considered a best practice to list course-required videos on Kennedy Library's Course Reserves.
Caution: Personal streaming accounts with providers such as, but not limited to, Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu are liable to user agreements and these agreements often prohibit an activity such as streaming a movie in a classroom. Please review your user agreement to ensure that your use is legal.
Embedding Videos
All of the library's streaming videos are licensed for classroom use. While adding a video to course reserves remains the best practice, it is also possible to embed streaming videos directly in Canvas.
The process is similar for each of the library's streaming video collections:
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowFrom the video page, select Share, then Embed, and copy the provided embed code
- Academic Video Online This link opens in a new windowFrom the video page, select Share, then Copy Embed Code
More information for Alexander Street Press media products - Docuseek2 Streaming Video This link opens in a new windowFrom the video page, select Embed, then copy the provided embed code
More information and detailed instructions for Docuseek2 - BBC Shakespeare Plays This link opens in a new windowFrom the video page, select Links and Embedding, then Copy Proxied Embed code to clipboard
