Copyright Exemptions in the Classroom

There are certain uses of copyrighted material in the classroom that exempt the user from obtaining permission. Not all uses of copyrighted material are exempt from obtaining permission, the following outlines exemptions:

Faculty may make a single copy, for personal use, of a:

• Chart, graph, picture, diagram, illustration or cartoon from a book, magazine or newspaper;
• Chapter from a book;
• Short story, short essay or short poem;
• Chapter from a book.

Faculty may make multiple copies for classroom use (limited to one copy per student) of:

• A complete article, story or essay less than 2,500 words;
• One chart, graph, cartoon, diagram, illustration or picture per book or periodical;
• A complete poem or less than 250 words and less than two printed pages;
• An excerpt of less than 250 words from a longer poem;
• An excerpt from a prose work if less than 1,000 words or 10% of the total work, whichever is less.

The following restrictions apply to the exemptions above:

• Copying is for only one course in the University;
• Not more than one short poem, article, etc. or two (2) excerpts may be copied from the same author;
• Not more than three (3) excerpts may be copied from a collective work during one semester;
• Not more than nine (9) instances of multiple copies may be made for one course during one semester. More than nine (9) times is interpreted as a violation of “fair use.”