Ursuline College Copyright Policy

Multiple Copies for Classroom Use

The following requirements for multiple copying for classroom purposes apply to multiple copying for classroom use done through the Print Shop, at a stand-alone photocopying machine, or at an off-campus copying center.

1. General Rule – Permission Required. Faculty members or students who want to make photocopies of materials for classroom use to distribute to students should seek the prior written permission of the copyright owner. (A “Request for Permission to Photocopy Materials” form is attached. This form can be adapted for specific requests.) The college also has a membership in the Copyright Clearance Center, which can handle specific requests, for a fee.

2. Fair Use Exception – Permission Not Required. Faculty may make, or have someone else make, multiple copies for classroom use without prior written permission if all of the following are met:

• The copying meets the brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effects tests below:

Brevity: The brevity test for prose is met if the copy is (a) a complete article, story or essay of 2500 or fewer words or (b) an excerpt of no more than 1000 words or 10% of the work whichever is less.

    The test is met for poetry if the poem is (a) less than 250 words and printed on not more than two pages, or (b) an excerpt from a longer poem of not more than 250 words.

    For illustrations, brevity constitutes one chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.

Spontaneity: The inspiration for the copying came from the individual faculty member, and the motivation, the decision and the need to use the work are so close in time that seeking permission would be unreasonable.

Cumulative effects: The copying is for only one course at the college. Copying during one semester of any kind of printed material – except current news periodicals, newspapers and current news sections – is limited to: one work (short article, essay, story or two excerpts) from any one author; three excerpts from the same collected work or periodical; and nine instances of multiple copying for the same course.

• Only one copy per student is requested.
• Faculty members do not use the same article from semester to semester without permission.
• All photocopies carry a copyright notice similar to the following:

“This material may be protected by copyright law. (Title 17, United States Code).”

• Students are only charged for the cost of the copying.
• Photocopying is not used to replace books, publisher’s reprints or periodicals.
• Permission is obtained from the copyright owner before creating anthologies or collected works by copying various printed articles or works and compiling them into a packet.
• Workbook pages, tests, answer sheets or other consumable materials are not photocopied without permission.