We talk about copyright pretty often, and of course this is important for libraries. People working in all types of libraries are often the ones responsible for advising the rest of their organization on how to best follow federal copyright laws.

And right now, we are in the unusual position of having our schools and libraries shut down – with our work moving online. This presents a variety of different copyright situations we need to be considering.

And you may be hearing a variety of contradictory advice. I’ve been read a lot of library voices online saying that in an emergency situation, like our current pandemic, it should be okay to use copyright material however we need to. I would be very cautious there, and would not suggest doing that. Federal law does not provide for a “lots of sick people” exception to copyright laws. And once this current situation has passed, there may be punishments for copyright violations.

So, let’s just play it safe. Let’s follow copyright laws, and let’s encourage our community members to also do it.

And what if you are not sure whether the material you have is even covered by copyright? The laws have changed a lot, so it can be complicated! I really like the Digital Copyright Slider – an easy-to-use website that lets you look at the age of your material, along with some other information, to see if copyright law applies in your case.

When in doubt, be conservative. Assume your material is covered by copyright, and proceed accordingly.

Here are a few basic idea you can follow, to ensure you and your organization stay out of trouble.

If you want to use an article, or a book chapter, or a video in class – don’t just assume it’s okay. Remember: copyright law is written to protect the rights of the creator/author/artist.

So your first step may be to ask for permission to use whatever it is you are looking at. That may be asking the creator directly, asking a publisher, or paying a fee to a service that can give you permission to use it.

But, what if you want it tomorrow?

Well, it’s possible your wish to share this information may fall into an exception to the general rule of copyright law restrictions. Maybe. Too many schools and libraries just wave their hands, shriek “FAIR USE!” and assume it’s all fine. Maybe things are fine, but again: be cautious. Move forward carefully. The penalties are high for making a mistake here and violating federal law.

Here is the overview of Fair Use, from the Copyright.gov website (an excellent resource for you!):

“Fair use is a legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances. Section 107 of the Copyright Act provides the statutory framework for determining whether something is a fair use and identifies certain types of uses—such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research—as examples of activities that may qualify as fair use.  Section 107 calls for consideration of the following four factors in evaluating a question of fair use:

• Purpose and character of the use, including whether the use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
• Nature of the copyrighted work
• Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
• Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

The copyright.gov website goes into more detail about each of these factors, so you can balance decisions for yourself. Be conservative, be cautious, use less than you think you can get away with here. Avoiding trouble is so much better for you, for your library, and for your organization, than figuring out how to get out of it!