For Faculty > Copyright/Plagiarism > Fair Use and Print Materials

The specific guidelines below are mostly taken, in whole or in part, from guidelines developed by various groups over the years since the passage of copyright law. Remember that the guidelines are not law and they only address making copies of materials in books and periodicals by teachers for study and classroom use.

Single Copies
A single copy may be made for the pupose of study, scholarly research, or for use in teaching or preparation to teach a class:

A chapter from a book;
An article from a periodical or newspaper;
A short story, short essay or short poem, whether or not from a collective work; or
A chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture from a book, periodical, or newspaper.

Multiple Copies for Classroom Use
Multiple copies (not to exceed in any event more than one copy per pupil in a course) may be made by or for the teacher giving the course for classroom use or discussion; provided that:

The copying meets the tests of brevity and spontaneity as defined below; and,
Meets the cumulative effect test as defined below; and
Each copy includes a notice of copyright.

Poetry

A complete poem if less than 250 words and if printed on not more than two pages or, from a longer poem, an excerpt of not more than 250 words.

Prose:

Either a complete article, story or essay of less than 2,500 words, or an excerpt from any prose work of not more than 1,000 words or 10% of the work, whichever is less, but in any event a minimum of 500 words. (Each
of the numerical limits above may be expanded to permit the completion of an unfinished line of a poem or of an unfinished prose paragraph.)

Illustration:

One chart, graph, diagram, drawing, cartoon or picture per book or per periodical issue.

Spontaneity:

The copying is at the instance and inspiration of the individual teacher, and
The inspiration and decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission

Cumulative Effect:

The copying of the material is for only one course in the school in which the copies are made.
Not more than one short poem, article, story, essay or two excerpts may be copied from the same author, nor more than three from the same collective work or periodical volume during one class term.
There shall not be more than nine instances of such multiple copying for one course during one class term.

Notwithstanding any of the above, the following shall be prohibited:

Copying shall not be used to create or to replace or substitute for anthologies, compilations or collective works. Such replacement or substitution may occur whether copies of various works or excerpts therefrom are accumulated or reproduced and used separately.
There shall be no copying of or from works intended to be ''consumable'' in the course of study or of teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests and test booklets and answer sheets and like consumable material.

Copying shall not:

Substitute for the purchase of books, publishers' reprints or periodicals;
Be directed by higher authority;
Be repeated with respect to the same item by the same teacher from term to term.
No charge shall be made to the student beyond the actual cost of the photocopying.

Coursepacks sold through the bookstore require that permission be obtained for all materials not the original creation of the instructor. The NSCC bookstore can arrange this service given sufficient notice.