thesis copyright fair use

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Fair use, copyright, patent, and publishing options.

Is information that you plan to include from others considered “fair use” and are you acknowledging these sources correctly?
Embargo of online copies
Creative Commons license
Has a patent application been filed (or will one be) on the basis of your thesis or dissertation research?
Register for copyright?
Supplementary materials
Make your work discoverable on search engines?
Make your work accessible to people with visual disabilities

1. Is information that you plan to include from others considered “fair use” and are you acknowledging these sources correctly?

You are responsible for acknowledging any facts, ideas, or materials of others that you include in your work. You must follow the guidelines for acknowledging the work of others in the “Code of Academic Integrity and Acknowledging the Work of Others” (published in the Policy Notebook for the Cornell Community ) .

If you use any copyrighted material in the dissertation or thesis, it is your responsibility to give full credit to the author and publisher of work quoted. The acknowledgment should be placed in a footnote at the bottom of the first page of the paper or chapter. Additionally, you must determine whether use of the material can be classified as a “fair use” by performing an analysis of your use of each copyrighted item. The Cornell Copyright Information Center’s Fair Use Checklist ) is a helpful tool for performing this analysis. (See also, Copyright Law and the Doctoral Dissertation: Guidelines to Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities , published by ProQuest, or The Chicago Manual of Style , published by the University of Chicago Press.)

If your use of material is not considered a “fair use,” you must obtain written permission from the copyright owner. Two copies of each permission letter must be submitted with the dissertation or thesis. ProQuest has specific requirements for the content of the permission letter. For these guidelines, consult the ProQuest Doctoral Dissertation Agreement form (published by ProQuest).

If you have already published or had accepted for publication part of your own dissertation or thesis material in a journal, depending on the terms of your publication agreement, it may be necessary to write to that journal and obtain written authorization to use the material in your dissertation.

2. Embargo of online copies

The value of your dissertation extends well beyond your graduation requirements. It’s important that you make an informed decision about providing online access, via ProQuest and eCommons, to your work. This decision can expand the visibility and impact of your work, but it can also shape the options available to you for publishing subsequent works based on your dissertation.

ProQuest’s ProQuest Dissertations and Theses (PQDT) database indexes almost all dissertations published in the U.S. and provides subscription access online to the full text of more recent dissertations. ProQuest also sells print copies of dissertations, paying royalties to authors, when they exceed a minimum threshold. Authors retain copyright in the works they submit to ProQuest.

eCommons is a service of the Cornell University Library that provides long-term, online access to Cornell-related content of enduring value. Electronic theses and dissertations deposited in eCommons, unless subject to embargo, are freely accessible to anyone with an internet connection. When submitting to eCommons, you retain copyright in your work. Ph.D. dissertations and master’s theses submitted to ProQuest are automatically submitted to eCommons, subject to the same embargo you select for ProQuest.

Electronic copies of dissertations in PQDT or eCommons may be made accessible immediately upon submission or after an embargo period of six months, one year, or two years. You may wish to consider an embargo period which helps address publishers’ interests in being the first to publish scholarly books or articles, while also ensuring that scholarship is accessible to the general public within a reasonable period of time. Your decision should be made in consultation with your special committee.

3. Creative Commons license

Creative Commons licenses provide authors with a straightforward and standardized means of prospectively granting certain permissions to potential users of the author’s material. Authors may request proper attribution, permit copying and the creation of derivative works, request that others share derivative works under the same terms, and allow or disallow commercial uses. Authors may even choose to place their works directly into the public domain. You will have the option of selecting a Creative Commons license when you upload your dissertation or thesis to ProQuest, and your choice will automatically be applied to the copy of your work in eCommons.

4. Has a patent application been filed (or will one be) on the basis of your thesis or dissertation research?

Cornell University Policy 1.5 governs inventions and related property rights. Inventions made by faculty, staff, and students must be disclosed to the Center for Technology Licensing at Cornell University (CTL). Theses and dissertations describing patentable research should be withheld from publication, in order to avoid premature public disclosure.

Use the delayed release (embargo) option if a patent application is or will be in process, noting the reason for the delay as “patent pending.” If you have any questions, please contact Cornell’s Center for Technology Licensing at 607-254-4698 or [email protected] .

5. Register for copyright?

Copyright law involves many complex issues that are relevant to you as a graduate student, both in protecting your own work and in referencing the work of others. Discussion of copyright in this publication is not meant to substitute for the legal advice of qualified attorneys. A more detailed discussion of copyright law can be found in the publication from ProQuest entitled Copyright Law and the Doctoral Dissertation: Guidelines to Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities by Kenneth D. Crews.

Copyright protection automatically exists from the time the work is created in fixed form and the copyright immediately becomes the property of the author. Registration with the United States Copyright Office is not required to secure copyright; rather it is a legal formality to place on public record the basic facts of a particular copyright. Although not a condition of copyright protection itself, registering the copyright is ordinarily necessary before any infringement suits can be filed in court.

To register a copyright for your dissertation or thesis, register online or download printable forms . You may also request forms by mail from the Information Section, U.S. Copyright Office, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20559, or contact them by telephone at 202-707-3000.

Doctoral candidates: You may authorize ProQuest to file, on your behalf, an application for copyright registration. This option will be presented to you as part of the submission process.

6. Supplementary materials

If supplementary materials (audio, video, datasets, etc., up to 2GB per file) are part of your thesis or dissertation, you may submit them as supplementary files during the online submission process. For help selecting long-lived file formats, note ProQuest’s guidance in their document, “Preparing Your Manuscript for Submission (Including Supplemental Files).” File formats for which ProQuest does not guarantee migration may still have a high likelihood of preservation in Cornell’s digital repository; please see the eCommons help page for further guidance.

Do not embed media files in the PDF version of your thesis or dissertation, as this can significantly increase the size of the file and make it difficult to download and access. Include a description of each supplementary file in the abstract of your thesis or dissertation. You may include an additional supplementary file containing more detailed information about the supplementary materials as a “readme” file or other form of documentation; this is particularly advisable for data sets or code. The Research Data Management Service Group ( [email protected] ) offers assistance in preparing and documenting data sets for online distribution.

7. Make your work discoverable on search engines?

ProQuest offers authors the option of making their graduate work discoverable through major search engines including Yahoo, Google, Google Scholar, and Google Books. If you chose the Search Engine option on their dissertation “paper” publishing agreement or within ProQuest’s PROQUEST ETD Administrator (electronic submission service), you can expect to have your work appear in the major search engines.

If you change your mind and do not want your work to be made available through search engines, you can contact customer service at [email protected] or 800-521-0600 ext. 77020. In addition, if you did not initially adopt this option but now want your works made available through this service, contact the customer service group to change your selection.

Please note that search engines index content in eCommons, regardless of the choice you make for ProQuest.

8. Make your work accessible to people with visual disabilities

When creating a PDF version of your thesis or dissertation it is important to keep in mind that readers may use assistive technology such as screen readers to access your document. Follow best practices to ensure that your thesis or dissertation is accessible to everyone. These resources may be helpful:

Cornell CIT’s guidance for creating accessible PDFs
Checking accessibility using Acrobat Pro
Embedding alternative text for images in Word
Save a Word doc as an accessible PDF

Penn State University Libraries

Using Others' Work
Reusing Your Published Work
Your Copyright
Publishing Your Thesis or Dissertation
Frequently Asked Questions and Resources

Using Third-Party Materials in Your Thesis or Dissertation

If you use materials (such as text, images, sound recordings, etc.) created by a third party in your thesis or dissertation, you need to consider whether copyright law allows your use of those materials. Even when copyright permits your use of a work, contract law may prevent it. When you agree to terms of use in order to gain access to a copy of a work (such as a letter in an archive or a newspaper article in an online database), those terms also control what you can do with the work.

In some cases, even reusing your own published articles can raise copyright concerns, if you have transferred your copyright to someone else, like your publisher. For more information, see Reusing Your Published Work .

You can proceed without copyright permission if you are using something that is in the public domain . You also don't need permission if you are using it in a way that is not regulated by one of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights or is permitted by fair use or another user’s right. If none of these circumstances applies, you need a license to use the work. In some cases, an existing license may cover your use. In others, you will need to get a new license from the copyright holder.

In addition to the copyright issues, it is also vital to follow attribution norms within your discipline. For more information about the distinction between plagiarism and copyright infringement, see below.

Contracts at Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Some institutions require you to sign an agreement before accessing their collections. That agreement may limit your ability to use their materials. These agreements can be valid even when the materials are in the public domain or using the materials would qualify as fair use. For instance, if you agree to get permission from the institution before publishing any images of items from its collection, you are bound by that agreement.

To avoid trouble on this issue,

Ask up front what the terms are and whether you can use the materials in your thesis or dissertation;
Carefully read the terms of any agreements you sign; and
Keep a copy of the terms, noting the materials to which they apply.

Fair Use in Theses and Dissertations

Fair use allows certain uses of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder. There are four factors to consider when determining whether your use is a fair one. You must consider all the factors, but not all the factors have to favor fair use for the use to be fair. The outline below explains how the fair use factors and their subfactors apply to using third-party material in a Penn State thesis or dissertation.

First Factor: "The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes"

Uses that fall under one of the favored purposes listed in the fair use statute (17 U.S.C. § 107) or have a nonprofit educational purpose will weigh in favor of fair use. Favored purposes include scholarship, research, criticism, and comment. Since uses in theses and dissertations often have these purposes, this subfactor favors fair use.

Uses that are commercial weigh against fair use. Most uses in theses and dissertations are not for commercial purposes. If you are writing a doctoral dissertation at Penn State, you will be required to license it to ProQuest for distribution. Because ProQuest is a commercial entity, you should consider this when evaluating fair use. Although commerciality weighs against fair use, other subfactors can outweigh that — commercial uses can still be fair.

Uses that are transformative weigh in favor of fair use. A use is transformative when the use adds new meaning or message to the original work, giving it a new purpose. For example, using advertisement images from the 1960s to discuss use of race in advertising is a transformative use, because the advertisements were originally created to sell products. Quoting another scholar's analysis of the advertisement would not necessarily be transformative, though it is still often fair use.

Second Factor: "The nature of the copyrighted work"

If the work used is creative, that will weigh against fair use. If the work used is factual, that will weigh in favor of fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the work used.

If the work used is unpublished, that will weigh against fair use. However, the fair use statute explicitly states that the unpublished nature of a work will not bar fair use if the use is otherwise fair. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the work used.

Third Factor: "The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole"

Using all or much of the original work will weigh against fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the use.

Using the most important part of the original work (the "heart") will weigh against fair use, even if it is only a small amount of the work. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the use.

The third factor is neutralized if the amount used is necessary for a transformative purpose, even if the entire original work is used. For instance, the third factor would be neutralized in the use of the advertisement described above if all of the advertisement has to be used in order to achieve the transformative use.

Fourth Factor: "The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work"

Uses that decrease demand for the original work by providing a substitute will weigh against fair use. In many cases, using a work in your thesis or dissertation will not provide a substitute for the original work, but the outcome of this subfactor can vary depending on the use.

Uses that decrease demand for the original work by criticizing it (as with a negative film review) have no impact on the fourth factor.

If the licensing market for the use you are making is "traditional, reasonable, or likely to develop," that will weigh against fair use.

Resources on Fair Use

Penn State Fair Use Page From the Office of Scholarly Communications and Copyright, this page explains the four fair use factors and recommends resources on fair use.
Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors This guide, published by the Authors Alliance, explains when fair use applies to the use of sources in nonfiction works such as scholarly articles. It has been endorsed by the American Council of Learned Societies and the Association for Information Science and Technology.
Codes of Best Practices in Fair Use These codes document the shared best practices of communities that rely on fair use, including fair use for online video, fair use of images for teaching, research, and study, fair use for OpenCourseWare, fair use for documentary filmmakers, fair use for the visual arts, and fair use for academic and research libraries.
Summaries of Fair Use Cases This set of case summaries from Stanford is a good resource for learning about fair use law.
US Copyright Office Fair Use Index This index of fair use cases is searchable by media format, case outcome, jurisdiction, and date. It is helpful for learning about legal precedents and judicial interpretation of the fair use doctrine.

Using Material Under an Existing License

A Creative Commons license makes it easy for you to know how you can use a work. Images licensed under Creative Commons licenses can be particularly useful if you need a generic rather than specific image. Because the rights holder has already given everyone permission to use the image under the terms of the license, you do not need to evaluate fair use or seek permission in order to use it.

When you use a work licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses, you need to comply with the license requirements (unless your use is otherwise permitted, e.g., by fair use). All Creative Commons licenses require attribution. Using the work without giving attribution means you do not meet the legal conditions of the license. However, the licenses are deliberately flexible about the requirements for that attribution. The Best Practices for Attribution are outlined on the Creative Commons wiki. Our page about Creative Commons licenses has more information on this topic.

Searching for Licensed Works

When works are marked with code generated by the Creative Commons License Chooser , that mark is machine readable. A number of search tools allow users to limit their search by license.

CC Search CC Search enables users to search across multiple platforms for content licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses.
Google: Find Free-to-Use Images This page explains how to use Google's search engines to find images, text, and videos that are licensed under Creative Commons licenses.

Copyright Infringement vs. Plagiarism

Copyright infringement and plagiarism are related but distinct concepts. Plagiarism is using the work of another without attribution. Copyright infringement is any reproduction, distribution, modification, performance, or display of a copyrighted work without the permission of the rights holder that does not fall under fair use or another user's right.

It is possible to plagiarize even when you have cleared permission for all the copyrighted works. Similarly, it is possible to infringe copyright even when you have given careful attribution. In addition to resolving the copyright issues, you must follow attribution norms within your discipline in order to avoid plagiarizing others' work.

U.S. copyright law does not require citation in a particular form. However, following academic citation norms can help improve your fair use analysis. Check with your advisor for help figuring out what citation style you should use in your thesis or dissertation.

The Graduate School's Thesis and Dissertation Guide says:

Source citations are required in the text whenever you use a direct quotation, paraphrase another author’s words, or include specific information that is not common knowledge (and is not the result of your own research reported in the thesis/dissertation).

For further information on citation, check out the PSU Libraries’ Citation Guide .

Attribution

This guide is based in part on Copyright for Dissertations , a guide from the University of Michigan Library Copyright Office, which is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license .

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Last Updated: May 23, 2024 2:44 PM
URL: https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/copyright-td

University of Michigan Library
Research Guides

Copyright for Dissertations

Using Others' Content
Copyright in Your Dissertation
Publishing Your Dissertation

Copyright Questions?

The University of Michigan Library Copyright Office provides help with copyright questions for University of Michigan faculty, staff and students. Please email us with questions or visit our website for more information.

Legal Advice

The information presented here is intended for informational purposes and should not be construed as legal advice. If you have specific legal questions pertaining to the University of Michigan, please contact the Office of the General Counsel .

If you require legal advice in your personal capacity, the lawyer referral services operated by the Washtenaw County Bar Association and the State Bar of Michigan may be helpful to you.

Using Third-Party Materials in Your Dissertation

If you use materials (such as text, images, sound recordings, etc.) created by a third party in your dissertation, you need to consider whether copyright law allows your use of those materials. In some cases, even reusing your own published articles can raise copyright concerns, if you have transferred your copyright to someone else, like your publisher. Even when copyright permits your use of a work, contract law may prevent it. When you agree to terms of use in order to gain access to a copy of a work (such as a letter in an archive or a newspaper article in an online database), those terms also control what you can do with the work.

You can proceed without copyright permission if you are using something that is not copyrightable or is in the public domain . You also don't need permission if you are using it in a way that does not implicate one of the rights of copyright holders or is permitted by a user’s right , such as fair use. If none of these circumstances applies, you need a license to use the work. In some cases, an existing license may cover your use. In others, you will need to get a new license from the copyright holder. For more information on these subjects, please see our Copyright Basics and Obtaining Copyright Permissions guides.

Contracts at Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Some institutions require you to sign an agreement before accessing their collections. That agreement may limit your ability to use their materials. These agreements are valid even when the materials are in the public domain or using the materials would qualify as fair use. For instance, if you agree to get permission from the institution before publishing any images of items from its collection, you are bound by that agreement.

To avoid trouble on this issue,

Ask up front what the terms are and whether you can use the materials in your dissertation;
Carefully read the terms of any agreements you sign; and
Keep a copy of the terms, noting the materials to which they apply.

Fair Use in Dissertations

First Factor: "The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes"

Uses that fall under one of the favored purposes listed in the fair use statute (17 U.S.C. § 107) or have a nonprofit educational purpose will weigh in favor of fair use. Favored purposes include scholarship, research, criticism, and comment. Since uses in dissertations often have these purposes, this subfactor favors fair use.

Uses that are commercial weigh against fair use. Most uses in dissertations are not for commercial purposes, but that may change if you publish your dissertation with ProQuest or another commercial entity.

Uses that are transformative weigh in favor of fair use. A use is transformative when the use adds new meaning or message to the original work, giving it a new purpose. For example, imagine you are writing your dissertation about the impacts of advertising directed to children. You include a toy advertisement and analyze how it reached a child audience. The original purpose of the advertisement was to increase demand for the toy, while your purpose is for scholarship and critique, making your use transformative. Quoting another scholar's analysis of the advertisement would not necessarily be transformative, though it is still often fair use.

Second Factor: "The nature of the copyrighted work"

If the work used is creative, that will weigh against fair use. If the work used is factual, that will weigh in favor of fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the work used.

Third Factor: "The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole"

Using all or much of the original work will weigh against fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the use.

Using the most important part of the original work (the "heart") will weigh against fair use, even if it is only a small amount of the work. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the use.

The third factor is neutralized if the amount used is necessary for a transformative purpose, even if the entire original work is used. For instance, the third factor would be neutralized in the use of the toy advertisement described above — all of the advertisement has to be used in order to achieve the transformative use.

Fourth Factor: "The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work"

Uses that decrease demand for the original work by providing a substitute will weigh against fair use. In many cases, using a work in your dissertation will not provide a substitute for the original work, but the outcome of this subfactor can vary depending on the use.

Uses that decrease demand for the original work by criticizing it (as with a negative film review) have no impact on the fourth factor.

If the licensing market for the use you are making is "traditional, reasonable, or likely to develop," that will weigh against fair use.

Resources on Fair Use

Fair Use Checklist This checklist from the Columbia Copyright Advisory Office helps users consider the factors and subfactors of the fair use analysis.
Codes of Best Practices in Fair Use These codes document the shared best practices of communities that rely on fair use, including fair use for online video, fair use of images for teaching, research, and study, fair use for OpenCourseWare, fair use for documentary filmmakers, fair use for the visual arts, and fair use for academic and research libraries.
Summaries of Fair Use Cases This set of case summaries from Stanford is a good resource for learning about fair use law.
US Copyright Office Fair Use Index This index of fair use cases is searchable by media format, case outcome, jurisdiction, and date. It is helpful for learning about legal precedents and judicial interpretation of the fair use doctrine.
Fair Use for Nonfiction Authors This guide, published by the Authors Alliance, explains when fair use applies to the use of sources in nonfiction works such as scholarly articles. It has been endorsed by the American Council of Learned Societies and the Association for Information Science and Technology.

Using Material Under an Existing License

When you use a work licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses, you need to comply with the license requirements (unless your use is otherwise permitted, e.g., by fair use). All Creative Commons licenses require attribution. Using the work without giving attribution means you do not meet the legal conditions of the license. However, the licenses are deliberately flexible about the requirements for that attribution. The Best Practices for Attribution are outlined on the Creative Commons wiki. Our guide to Creative Commons licenses has more information on this topic.

Creative Commons Resources

When works are marked with code generated by the Creative Commons License Chooser , that mark is machine readable. A number of search tools allow users to limit their search by license.

CC Search CC Search enables users to search across multiple platforms for content licensed under one of the Creative Commons licenses.
Google: Find Free-to-Use Images This page explains how to use Google's search engines to find images, text, and videos that are licensed under Creative Commons licenses.

Copyright Infringement vs. Plagiarism

U.S. copyright law does not require citation in a particular form. However, following academic citation norms can help improve your fair use analysis. Check with your dissertation advisor for help figuring out what citation style you should use in your dissertation.

The Rackham Dissertation Handbook (PDF) says sources that must be cited include, but are not limited to:

language or wording either taken directly or paraphrased from another source, whether published or not; concepts, interpretations, techniques, methods, test instruments or procedures borrowed or adapted from another work, whether published or not; charts, graphs or figures borrowed or adapted from another source, whether published or not; photographs, films, recordings, digital material or other images from another source; and data, surveys or results of any kind from any other inquiry or investigation.

The Sweetland Center for Writing provides a number of resources on plagiarism and how to avoid it, including Beyond Plagiarism: Best Practices for the Responsible Use of Sources .

Graduate Thesis Submission Guide

Thesis Guide
Formatting Requirements
Submitting Your Thesis
Managing References
Database Pro Tips
Avoiding Plagiarism This link opens in a new window
Discoverability, Embargo, and the Scholarly Conversation
Open Access Images
Requesting Permission for Copyrighted Materials
Thesis Collection This link opens in a new window

Copyright and Your Thesis

Respecting copyright — and understanding the basics of copyrighted-related issues — is an important aspect of your thesis-writing process and an issue that will continue to arise throughout your academic and creative career. We know copyright can be intimidating and hard to make sense of: after all, discussions of copyright often stray into complex legal, creative, and ethical terrain. While it isn't necessary for you to be a copyright expert, it is essential that you understand copyright issues as they relate to including and referencing the work(s) of others in your thesis.

With that in mind, here are our overarching recommendations as you consider which third party materials to include in your thesis:

Use open access works and/or works covered by Creative Commons Licenses
Ensure your use of copyrighted materials counts as "fair use" (in other words, repurpose, reinterpret, or otherwise "transform" the copyrighted work in question)
Request permission for copyrighted works
Remove potentially problematic materials entirely from your thesis

We recommend you follow the above guidelines in the order that they're listed ; that is, seek out open access works first to avoid any potential copyright infringements. If you are unable to do so, seek fair use for copyrighted materials. If each of these strategies is unsuccessful, your last resort may be to request permission for copyrighted work[s], or to remove problematic third party content from your thesis entirely if this option fails. The following three subpages — Open Access Images, Fair Use, and Requesting Permission for Copyrighted Materials — breaks each of these issues down into greater detail.

Image Use and Copyright for your Thesis (Slides)

Why Does Copyright Matter?

For the purposes of your thesis, you don't need to be an expert in copyright law. However, understanding the major issues and questions around copyright will help you make informed decisions about your thesis and protect it from copyright challenges once it's published. Understanding and respecting copyright is also about giving credit where it's due, an essential aspect of Pratt's Academic Integrity Policy . So while respecting copyright has to do with protecting your thesis from infringement challenges, on a deeper level it also has to do with pursuing your academic and creative work with integrity and acknowledgement of other's contributions.

The following excerpt from Kenneth Crews' article Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis summarizes this sentiment well:

" Finishing your dissertation is exhausting and gratifying. You have invested countless days of research, followed by hours of writing late into the night. You made exciting breakthroughs, and you aspire to a career of further research. You probably did not expect to indulge in copyright at this stage of your study. However, attention to copyright can help avoid pitfalls and reveal opportunities to further your scholarly goals. Given the way that the law operates, copyright law most certainly protects your dissertation as well as the quotations, photographs, music, diagrams, and many other works that you have included in your doctoral study. The decisions you make about copyright can directly affect the quality of your work, your ability to publish your dissertation, and your opportunities for building upon your years of research throughout your career. Attending to the fundamentals of copyright can be important for your scholarship, regardless of your discipline or field of expertise ." (Crews, 2013).

Copyright Checklist

The following checklist — also summarized from Kenneth Crews' article — should be referred to throughout the process of researching and writing your thesis. Though you might be tempted to put these considerations off until later, remember: any preparation or planning done early on will make things much easier as you get closer to submitting your thesis.

Do a thorough sweep or your thesis draft and identify all third-party materials you plan to include in your final project. Common third party materials include images, sources from the Web, and long quotations (over 1.5 pages, single-spaced) from published works.
Ask yourself, " Are any of these materials open access ?" If yes, they have no copyright restrictions.
Ask, " Does my inclusion of this material count as fair use ?"
Ask, " Do any of these materials have Creative Commons Licenses ?" Creative Commons Licenses allow for free distribution of otherwise copyrighted works (with proper attribution).
For any materials that don't meet the above conditions, ask, " Do I have permission to use these ?" If not, refer to the "Requesting Permission for Copyrighted Materials" page of this guide.
Ask, " Am I including any materials that I've created but that have been previously published elsewhere ?" Even if you are the original author of these materials, you will need permission to include them in your thesis.

Resources and Further Reading

We've provided relevant excerpts from these resources throughout this guide, and have also included them in their entirety below for you to review.

ProQuest Copyright Guide The following guide by ProQuest offers guidelines for avoiding copyright infringement and introduces the kinds of materials or sources that require copyright permissions. This document also includes a sample Permission Form and instructions to follow when requesting permission from copyright owners.
ProQuest - Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis This article by Kenneth Crews offers a more extensive overview of copyright and its significance, before discussing the fundamentals of copyright — both protecting your own and respecting others' — as they relate to your thesis. Though not required reading, Crews' article has a wealth of useful information that will strengthen your understanding of copyright as you research and write your thesis.
Pratt Institute Academic Integrity Policy Copyright issues directly relate to Pratt's Academic Integrity Policy, as each stress the importance of crediting and acknowledging the contributions other writers, artists, and thinkers have made to your work. "Giving credit where it's due" is a central aspect of academic integrity and an essential element of your thesis.
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Last Updated: Apr 9, 2024 10:43 AM
URL: https://libguides.pratt.edu/thesisguide

MIT Libraries logo MIT Libraries

Scholarly Communications - MIT Libraries

Theses & copyright

Fair use and your thesis

There are two key questions to consider when determining whether you can reuse a figure, table, image, or other content in your thesis without obtaining permission from the copyright holder:

Is the figure copyrighted? For the most part the answer to this will be yes (see Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States ). Generally, once the content was put in tangible form, and unless it was created prior to 1923 or is a US government publication, it is copyrighted.
Would your reuse be considered fair use ?

MIT license agreements may allow reuse

You may not need to rely on fair use to use others’ work in your thesis. The MIT Libraries’ has license agreements with Elsevier, Sage, Springer, Taylor & Francis, and Wiley that allow authors to reuse figures without asking permission or paying any fee.

Find more information about using figures and other content from published works.

Obtaining permission for use

If you determine that you should seek permission to reuse someone’s work, here are some places to go:

In general, MIT owns the copyright in MIT theses. If you want to reuse parts of a student’s (or your own) MIT thesis, contact [email protected] .
If you want to reuse a portion of a book or article, an efficient place to begin is the Copyright Clearance Center.
If you are seeking permission to reuse content from formats other than a book or article (e.g. music, plays, images, or film) consult the University of Texas Getting Permission page .

Using your own published articles in your thesis, or publishing articles from it

Journal publishers usually control copyright to scholarly articles. This theses and article publishing page shows publisher policies related to reuse of previously published articles in theses, and policies on accepting journal submissions on work that first appeared in a thesis.

Specifications for Thesis Preparation

This guide includes information on submission dates, fees, formatting, and copyright.

Fair Use Guidelines

Fair use permits educators to make certain uses of others’ works for nonprofit educational purposes.

17 U.S. Code 107

The statute, 17 U.S. Code 107, does not specify a scope of use; rather, it describes a “weighing and balancing” test one applies to a proposed use to determine whether the use is excused or needs permission from the copyright owner.

The test consists of four parts. First, we consider the nature of the use—whether it is nonprofit and educational or commercial and for-profit. Next, we consider the kind of work you want to use—whether it is factual or creative and fanciful. Then we consider how much of the whole work you will use. Finally, we consider the effect of such a use on the market for or value of the work, if the use were widespread.

The first factor weighs in our favor because we consider a dissertation to be very much like any other educational work. Students author dissertations to satisfy degree requirements. They are rarely professionally edited. They mark the beginning of the student’s efforts in a field. And their use of others’ materials generally transforms those materials through the processes of analysis, criticism, illustration and commentary. Thus, dissertations are nonprofit and educational.

The weight of the second, third and fourth factors depends on the proposed use. Use of small portions of a work is better than large portions. And lower-resolution images are better than stunning, reproducible images. Similarly, factual works are easier to justify as fair use than creative and fanciful works, though the study of creative works often requires that they be used and permission for them is often difficult or impossible to obtain. In appropriate proportions and for scholarly transformative purposes, even creative and fanciful works can be used under fair use. But one of the most important considerations is the “market effect” factor, the fourth factor. This factor weighs in favor of getting permission when there is an established permissions market, and in favor of fair use when there is not.

For example, it is easy, cheap and quick to get permission to use text materials for educational purposes because the Copyright Clearance Center has established a permissions market for such uses. As a result, the fourth factor will usually weigh in favor of getting permission for text materials.

Overall, we should use such materials under fair use more judiciously than we might use images, audiovisuals or music, where no such functional market exists and, indeed, getting permission is impossible in many cases. Be sure to document any effort made to obtain permission in order to demonstrate the lack of a functional market for permission for a particular kind of work.

Copyright Crash Course provided by UT Libraries

For more information on how this test works, see “Fair Use of Copyrighted Materials” in the University of Texas Libraries’ Copyright Crash Course at the link above.

Copyright Clearance Center (CCC)

CCC helps organizations integrate, access, and share information through licensing, content, software and professional services.

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use

It is important to understand that no one factor rules all the others. They intersect. For more information, see the Center for Media and Social Impact’s Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication.

Direct Quotations

Short, direct quotations of modest proportions are usually considered to be fair use. For example, a paragraph or two is probably within the bounds of fair use. For longer quotations, seek the permission of the copyright owner.

Images & Graphics

Our guidance about the use of images and graphics as fair use is affected significantly by the fourth fair use factor. It is often difficult or even impossible to get permission to use images and graphics. This situation is changing in some fields where it is now possible to license databases of quality images at reasonable prices for nonprofit educational uses. For example, Saskia and other art history image vendors offer educational licenses.

If it is easy to license the right to use the images you need, you should do so. But, for images for which a digital source is not readily available or for which permission is difficult or impossible to obtain, use of images without permission in an educational document like a dissertation is probably a fair use. Again, you should document any efforts you make to obtain permission.

Saskia is one of many art history image vendor that offers educational licenses for using their images.

Music & Audiovisuals

The same analysis we apply to images and graphics applies to music and audiovisuals: if you wish to use reasonable portions of such works in your dissertation, document your efforts to obtain permission or license the works. If your efforts show that there is no functional market for permission and no functional licensing opportunities, your use will likely be fair use.

Fair use is not an exact science. But there are good guides out there to help us make decisions about how much of what kinds of works it is appropriate to use when we rely on fair use. Considering the nature of a dissertation as transformative, educational and nonprofit, fair use enables us to use a portion of another’s work that is clearly related to our academic objective of making our points effectively, so long as we are sensitive to when there is and when there is not a functional market for permission.

This document was prepared for the Graduate School by Georgia Harper, and was last modified February 2011. Current questions about copyright can be addressed to Colleen Lyon, Scholarly Communications Librarian.

Copyright and Dissertations, Theses, and Master's Reports

Can I use this in my paper?

Weighing Fair Use

Fair use evaluator.

Licensing Your Work
Should I file for copyright?
Additional Resources

Transformative Use

While no use is always "fair," some uses are looked upon more favorably by the congress and the courts than others. A transformative use of a work - using an existing work for a new purpose or in an unexpected way - has weighed in favor of fair use in many court cases decided in recent decades. Even highly commercial uses have been judged "fair" by the U.S. Supreme Court, demonstrating the "weight" of a transformative use.

Librarians are available to answer your questions. Click on the Ask Us bubble for FAQs and contact options (chat, email, text, phone).

The information presented in this guide is intended for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice.

Fair use (section 107, U.S.C. Title 17) allows for the use of copyrighted material without permission from the copyright holder for purposes including, but not exclusive to: criticism, parody, news reporting, research, scholarship, and teaching. The "fairness" of a proposed use is determined by the application and consideration of four factors.

The four fair use factors are:

Purpose and character of your use. In what way are you using the work ?
Nature of the copyrighted work. Is the work you are using fiction or nonfiction? Published or unpublished?
Amount or significance of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole. How much of the work are you using? Is it the "heart" of the work?
Effect of your use upon the potential market for the copyrighted work. Is your use eliminating the need for the purchase of the original?

All four factors must be applied on a case-by-case basis. However, all four factors do not necessarily need to lean in favor of fair use in order for a proposed use to be deemed "fair." Some factors may be more significant than others depending on your proposed use.

What about "educational fair use?" While many educational uses favor fair use, you still need to evaluate your use each time you are reproducing, distributing or displaying copyrighted material in your scholarly work.

Because copyright law does not define what is or is not a fair use, there is always a degree of ambiguity in any analysis. While all potential uses must undergo the four factor analysis, judicial decisions concerning fair use can be used to define examples within the four factors that may be considered to generally weigh for or against fair use.



	educational	entertainment
	not-for-profit	profit generating
	transformative	duplicative
	factual	creative
	published	unpublished
	permanency	consumables (workbooks, e.g.)
	proportional to need	unnecessarily substantial amount or entire work
	no rival market for the original	impairs market or potential market for the original

All potential uses must undergo the four-factor analysis because copyright law does not define what is or is not fair use. Though there is always a degree of ambiguity in any analysis, judicial decisions concerning fair use can be used to define examples that may be considered to generally weigh for or against fair use.

Though no tool can equivocally determine fair use, Fair Use Evaluator from the ALA Office for Information Technology Policy can help you weigh the four factors as well as provide documentation of your analysis.

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URL: https://libguides.lib.mtu.edu/copyrightTDR

Theses & Dissertations

Introduction
Before Starting Your Research: IRB Approval and ETD Training
Getting Started
Guidelines and Templates
Contacts and FAQ
Style Guides
Reference Managers
Copyright, Fair Use, and Other Rights
Microsoft Word Help (External Guide)
LaTeX for Math and Science ETDs
Published Theses and Dissertations
ProQuest ETD Admin (External Link)

Reusing Copyrighted Work, Fair Use, Creative Commons, and More

See the ETD Guidelines for a more detailed explanation of copyright and how it might affect your ability to use someone else's work as part of your manuscript. Below are a few tools you can use to help determine a work's copyright status and what you can or can't do with it.

Need to Determine Whether Something is Under Copyright and for How Long?

Copyright Term and the Public Domain (Cornell University Libraries) A regularly-updated chart that will help you determine whether a work you'd like to reuse is under copyright and, if so, for how long.

What About Fair Use?

U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index An explanation of the "four factors" that determine whether an intended reuse counts as fair use or not under U.S. copyright law and a searchable index of past cases decided on the topic.

Fair Use Checklist (Columbia University Libraries) A checklist to help authors determine how the four factors apply to the reuse of a work and whether or not that use is, indeed, fair use.

Reusing Something That Is Creative Commons-Licensed (aka CC-BY)?

Creative Commons: About CC Licenses Some creators retain their copyright but openly license their work under Creative Commons (CC) so that anyone else can reuse it free of charge under certain conditions. This explains what each CC license means and what restrictions each may place on potential reuse.

Need More Help?

Copyright Basics at Marshall University A guide that takes a slightly deeper dive into the basics of copyright with an on-campus contact.

Attribution

Attribution vs. citation.

Citation is when an author indicates the source of an idea or quotation that they refer to in their work. Most style guides have detailed rules and guidance for formatting citations both in-text and in one or more reference lists.

An attribution gives credit to the creator of a work reused within your manuscript. For example, the caption underneath a photo often attributes the work to its photographer. Many style guides also have rules on how to format an attribution and whether or not to also cite the work within the attribution and/or the reference list.

Open Attribution Buider (Open Washington) Generates an attribution based on a Creative Commons license. This format may not comply with your style guide. Verify before your final draft.

Should You Register for Copyright?

Should you register your copyright for your thesis or dissertation.

When you submit, your final, publication-ready thesis or dissertation via ProQuest etdadmin.com, you are given the option to pay ProQuest to handle the registration of your manuscript with the U.S. Copyright Office.

This is not mandatory. Your manuscript is copyrighted regardless of whether you pay for copyright registration, but there are some important things to consider before making this choice.

Although your work is automatically copyrighted as soon as it is complete, you will need to have registered your copyright if you ever want to sue for copyright infringement or claim statutory damages and attorney's fees. The time frame in which you register is also important in both of these situations. Registering the copyright before publication is always best. If you wait until after publication, certain time limits come into play.

There are other benefits to registration. In addition to establishing a time frame for court cases regarding your copyright, it creates a public record that will help those wishing to license your work to determine its rights status now or many years in the future. The registration process also usually satisfies Library of Congress deposit requirements.

For more information about copyright registration:

See the section labeled "Benefits of Registration" in the U.S. Copyright Office's Circular 1, Copyright Basics .
Circular 2, Copyright Registration goes into the nuts and bolts of registering for copyright for different types of works.
There is also a U.S. Copyright Office video discussing the benefits of copyright registration at https://youtu.be/mM5fs2TCMKs .
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University Library

Copyright for Graduate Students: Theses and Dissertations

Public Domain
Creative Commons Licensing
Obtaining Copyright Permission
International Materials
State and Federal Governmental Materials
University Policies on Copyright
Depositing Your Dissertation/Thesis in IDEALS

Copyright Questions?

Should you have further questions, please do not hesitate to ask Sara Benson, the Copyright Librarian, for assistance. Sara can be reached at 217-333-4200 or [email protected]

Scholarly Communication and Publishing

Some Copyright Ground Rules

General Concepts
What Does Copyright Protect?
A work created today (or, more specifically, after 1989) is protected under copyright as soon as it’s created and is (generally) protected for the lifetime of the creator, plus 70 years (could be even longer for some works).
There is no special symbol (such as the copyright symbol) necessary on the protected work since 1989--it is protected simply because someone created it and wrote it down or recorded it.
If more than one person created a work, they might be joint owners of a work (see "Copyright Ownership" on the right).
When copyright expires, the work becomes public domain .
Ideas can’t be copyrighted, only the tangible expression in a fixed medium of the idea can.
Facts can't be copyrighted, either.
You may use any copyrighted material under the “ fair use ” doctrine, within fair use guidelines.
If something looks copyrighted, assume it is.
Copyright protects an author's right to reproduce (copy), distribute (license), make derivatives of the work, publicly display and perform the work
This means that if you wish to make a copy of a copyrighted work (unless it is considered a " fair use ") you must get permission from the owner of the work
You also generally cannot publicly display a copyrighted work (say a movie or work of art) unless you have permission to do so or a recognized "copyright exception" exists

Copyright Ownership

The Author Is The Initial Owner
Ownership Can Be Assigned or Transferred
Works Can Be Made Available Under Terms More Favorable Than Copyright Allows
Joint Ownership of A Copyrighted Work

If you wrote an essay or article, you are the owner of that article unless and until you contract away your rights (such as in a publishing agreement).

Giving away the bundle of rights that constitute copyright is often called a grant. If the transfer is exclusive it has to be in writing. In books/articles, this usually occurs in a publishing agreement.

The Creative Commons has developed a series of licenses that allows copyright holders to retain control over their works, but still make them available under terms more favorable than copyright allows. Essentially, under the creative commons licenses, owners of copyright have allowed others to use their work with certain limitations specified in the creative commons license.

More information about the creative commons license is available on their website at www.creativecommons.org .

A work is considered joint if it meets these conditions:

both or all the authors intend that their contributions be merged into a single work;

this intention exists at the time of creation of the work.

No written contract is necessary to create a joint work. Each author owns an undivided portion of the entire work. So, one author can grant another person permission to use the work without the agreement of the author author. The only obligation is to share in any profits received.

For some additional information about copyright in the music industry, please see the LibGuide on Copyright Resources for Music .

The Basics of Copyright

Common Questions & Answers

Q: Should I put some sort of copyright notice on my work?

A: It is wise to do so because even though it is not required, many people misunderstand basic copyright law rules. So, putting a notice on your work will remind others not to use it unless they have an exception applies to general copyright rules or they have obtained your permission first.

Q: As long as something is for educational use, I'm not violating copyright laws, right?

A: Unfortunately, no. Although there is a limited exception for face-to-face teaching, not all educational uses of copyrighted works will fall under that exception and fair use is decided on a case-by-case (not a blanket exception) basis.

Q: How do I know FOR SURE that something is a fair use?

A: That's a tough one. Unfortunately, it is hard to know when something is a fair use for sure because, ultimately, the court decides fair use cases on a case-by-case basis. Generally, we should exercise our good faith judgment and consider risk assessment when making fair use determinations. But, this does not mean that we shouldn't exercise our fair use rights. We should do so in a considered way.

Q: What role does licensing play in specific copyright questions?

A: A very large role. Essentially, you can contract away (through licensing) any of your copyright rights. So, for instance, if I write a journal article but if I assign my copyright entirely to the journal publisher, then I no longer have any right to share my article either publicly or privately without the permission of the journal.

The content for this page originated with the School of Music's Copyright LibGuide .

Except where otherwise indicated, original content in this guide is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) 4.0 license . You are free to share, adopt, or adapt the materials. We encourage broad adoption of these materials for teaching and other professional development purposes, and invite you to customize them for your own needs.

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Last Updated: May 8, 2024 3:09 PM
URL: https://guides.library.illinois.edu/copyrightforgradstudents

Copyright Help for Theses and Other Projects

Introduction
Permissions: General
Permissions: Images
Permissions: Data
Frequently Asked Questions

Director of Research Services

What is Fair Use?

Fair Use is a powerful legal doctrine that promotes freedom of expression by permitting the unlicensed use of copyright-protected works in certain circumstances.There is no clear-cut test or formulas you can use to figure out if something is Fair Use. This can be frustrating when you have bigger things to worry about - like your thesis! It can be helpful to remember that Fair Use is, essentially, the part of the copyright law that protects our First Amendment speech rights and that its strength lies in that very lack of specificity.

Is Your Use Fair?

Ultimately, you are responsible for getting copyright permissions and determining Fair Use. So, how do you figure out if your use is fair? You look at:

how you're using the work;
how much of the work you're using;
what kind of work it is;
and how your use will affect the market for that work.

These are called the "four factors" of fair use. See Columbia University's copyright website for more detailed information.

A fair use checklist is a tool you can use to help you decide if your use is fair.

A fair use checklist is a decision-making tool; in the end, you still have to make your own determination. What the checklist can do is let you know what kinds of things favor fair use and what kinds of things oppose it, giving you a framework for thinking about your use of a work. And, if you print it out and save it, it can provide documentation of your analysis (which can be helpful if anyone questions your decision).

Need help figuring out if your use is fair? Contact a librarian . We can't give you legal advice, but we are happy to talk it through with you and share our thoughts!

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Last Updated: Jul 5, 2024 10:43 AM
URL: https://libguides.reed.edu/copyright

Reed College Library | Email: [email protected] | Phone: 503-777-7702 | 3203 Southeast Woodstock Boulevard, Portland, Oregon 97202-8199

Reed College Data Privacy Policy

Fair Use and Copyright

Fair use is a provision in copyright law that allows the use of a certain amount of copyrighted material without seeking permission.

USEFUL LINKS

Share this page, what is fair use.

Fair use is a provision in copyright law that allows the use of a certain amount of copyrighted material without seeking permission from the rightsholder. This means fair use may apply to images (including photographs, illustrations, and paintings), quoting at length from literature, videos, and music regardless of the format.

How do I determine whether my use of an image or other third-party content in my dissertation is fair use?

Consider these four factors when making a fair use claim:

Nonprofit, educational, scholarly, or research use favors fair use. Commercial, non-educational uses often do not favor fair use.
A transformative use that repurposes or recontextualizes the in-copyright material favors fair use. Examining, analyzing, and explicating the material in a meaningful way to enhance a reader's understanding strengthens your fair use argument. Can you make the point in the thesis without using, for instance, an in-copyright image? If you can, your use of the image may not favor fair use on this factor.
Are you commenting on a judiciously selected quotation you have incorporated in-text because that quotation, together with your commentary, mutually establish or emphasize your point? If you are, your use of the quotation may favor fair use on this factor.
Published, fact-based content favors fair use and includes scholarly analysis in published academic venues.
Creative works, including artistic images, are afforded more protection under copyright and may be less likely to favor fair use. This does not preclude considerations of fair use for creative content altogether.
Can you use a thumbnail rather than a full-resolution image? Can you use a black-and-white photo instead of color? Can you quote select passages instead of including several pages of the content? These simple changes are more likely to favor fair use on this factor.
If there is a market for licensing this exact use or type of educational material, then this weighs against fair use. If, however, there would likely be no effect on the potential commercial market, or if it is not possible to obtain permission to use the work, then this favors fair use on this factor.

For further assistance with fair use, consult the Office of the General Counsel's Copyright and Fair Use: A Guide for the Harvard Community .

What are my options if I don’t have a strong fair use claim?

Consider the following options if you find you cannot reasonably make a fair use claim for the content you wish to incorporate:

Seek permission from the copyright holder.
Use openly licensed content as an alternative to the original third-party content you intended to use. Open licenses grant upfront permission for reuse of in-copyright content provided your use meets the terms of the open license.
Use content in the public domain. Public domain content is not in-copyright and is therefore free of all copyright restrictions. Whereas third-party content is owned by parties other than you, no one owns content in the public domain; everyone, therefore, has the right to use it.

For use of images in your dissertation, please consult the  Finding Public Domain & Creative Commons Media guide to find images without copyright restrictions. 

Contact your Copyright First Responder

Please note, Copyright First Responders assist with questions concerning copyright and fair use, but do not assist with the process of obtaining permission from copyright holders.

For information about fair use, publishing and licensing, state copyright laws, and more, see the resources made available by Harvard’s Office of the General Counsel.

Copyright and Fair Use: Theses and Dissertations

Public Domain
Theses and Dissertations
Creative Commons
Copyright Claims Board

Copyright for Theses and Dissertations

For many graduate students, the thesis or dissertation is one of their first publications. Having an understanding of basic copyright issues before beginning your thesis or dissertation can help you avoid additional work in the future.

A checklist for authors and some Frequently Asked Questions can be found below.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please email [email protected] .

Copyright Checklist for Theses and Dissertations

Below, is a checklist of activities to conduct before and during the writing of your thesis or dissertation. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Fondren Library Publishing Services using this webform or email [email protected] .

Educopia created a useful guide about copyright issues specifically related to theses and dissertations.
Read Rice’s Copyright Policy , which includes information specific to graduate students.
Be sure to acknowledge that the work was published in an earlier form and provide citation information.
Are any materials in the public domain ? Works in the public domain have no copyright restrictions on use (it is, however, best practice to provide attribution/citation).
Do any of the materials have Creative Commons licenses ? Check that your use meets the license terms of use.
Does fair use apply to any of your uses?
Do you have permission from a copyright owner to use material? Columbia University Libraries developed a useful resource for seeking permission.
Are you including any materials created by you, but previously published? Check your publishing agreements to ensure that you have permission to use your work in your thesis or dissertation.

Derived from ProQuest and Kenneth D. Crews’ “ Copyright Information for Dissertation Authors ” licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License .

Frequently Asked Questions

Below, are questions related to copyright and theses/dissertations that Fondren Library staff frequently receive. They are updated as additional questions are received and as policies/guidelines change. Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies also maintains a Candidacy and Defense FAQ .

Q: Who owns the copyright in my thesis or dissertation?

You do! You are the owner of the copyright in your work from the moment it is fixed in a tangible form, including computer memory. You continue to own that copyright until you transfer it to another party. A transfer of copyright must be in writing. [from The Graduate School, Duke University ]

Q: Why are Rice theses and dissertations made available online? Will this hurt my chances for future publication?

For many years, universities have required that dissertations be shared publicly, since the ultimate objective of doctoral training is to produce scholars who can make public contributions to knowledge. In the pre-Web era, dissertations were typically held by the PhD student’s home library as well as microfilmed and made available through UMI. In the Web era, most universities have moved to online systems, which are easier to manage, involve less hassle (you don’t have to worry about binding your dissertation), and allow students to have a deeper impact on knowledge. While the first book in the humanities is typically based on the author’s dissertation, it involves substantial revision, so many publishers regard it as being an entirely different object. Some students have found that having their dissertations available online raises their scholarly profile and even helps them to find a publisher. For more information, see Cirasella, J., & Thistlethwaite, P. (2017). Open access and the graduate author: A dissertation anxiety manual . In K. L. Smith & K. A.Dickson (Eds.), Open access and the future of scholarly communication: Implementation(pp. 203-224). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Q: Why is my dissertation available in the public domain?

This is a common misconception. You retain copyright over your thesis or dissertation. It is publicly available but not in the public domain .

Q: How do I copyright my thesis?

Copyright protection automatically exists from the time the work is created in fixed form. There is no requirement that the work be published or registered to obtain protection under copyright law.

However, you may wish to register your copyright with the U.S. Copyright Office at the Library of Congress. Copyright registration is not a condition to copyright protection but may be useful if you have a claim of infringement of your copyright. Registration may be made at any time within the life of the copyright, but there are advantages to filing for registration within three months of publication. For more information on registration, see the U.S. Copyright Office . [from The Graduate School, UNC ]

Q: Can I use copyrighted images or graphs in my dissertation?

A number of factors should be considered when determining if copyrighted material like images and graphs can be used in your work. Please see this guide’s fair use section or contact [email protected] . For additional information about using images in publications, please see the library’s guide to Finding and Using Images in Publications .

Q: What if I want to patent the research in my thesis?

You may need to request that publication of your work be delayed until after patent review. If you require a delay on the publishing of your thesis, you may make this request directly through thesis.rice.edu when submitting your documents.

Q: Who should I contact with questions about depositing theses and dissertations?

Contact Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies: [email protected]

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Last Updated: May 9, 2024 3:14 PM
URL: https://libguides.rice.edu/copyright

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1. Can I include music in my thesis or dissertation?

Copyright protects many different types of works, including musical works, sound recordings, textual works, and images. If you are using copyright protected works in your thesis or dissertation, you will need to determine if your use is permissible under the law. This means receiving permission from the copyright owner or relying on the statutory exception of fair use.

The fair use of a work is determined based on the balancing of four factors: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis and will require you to evaluate how and why you are including copyrighted works in your thesis or dissertation; using only the amount of the work needed to support your scholarship will help to strengthen your fair use defense.

Works in the public domain are free of copyright protections and may be used without restriction. Works available under an open license may be used according to the terms of the license.

2. What rights do I have as an author?

As a student, you own the copyright in your thesis or dissertation and may control how your work is reproduced, adapted, distributed, displayed, or performed. You may choose to retain all of these rights or transfer your rights to another person or entity, such as a publisher. Only sign a publishing agreement after you have read and understand the terms of the agreement.

By including a copyright notice, you let others know your ownership in the work. If you would like others to be able to use your work, clearly and publicly communicate your terms of use.

3. Who can access my thesis or dissertation?

Master’s theses, dissertations, and DMA documents must be electronically submitted to OhioLINK to meet graduation requirements as well as for storage and online access. In addition, PhD and DMA documents are archived through ProQuest/UMI. The full text of your thesis or dissertation will be openly available to the public now and in the future.

4. How do I remove content from my thesis or dissertation?

You may not be permitted to change documents that have been accepted to complete degree requirements, so carefully consider the materials you wish to include in your work prior to submission. OhioLINK considers material in the ETD Center to be a record of completed work and removal may only be permitted under certain circumstances.

OSU policy is to disseminate all dissertations as soon as possible. In certain situations, electronic distribution of your dissertation may be delayed through an embargo request for a period of one to five years. A petition to delay publication will be reviewed and granted by the Graduate School.

Have questions? Contact the OSU Copyright Resources Center: [email protected] , 614-688-5849.

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Theses, Dissertations, and Creative Components: Rights and Responsibilities

Fair use and your work
Doing research
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Reusing your own work in your thesis
Copyright infringement vs plagiarism
Getting permission for reuse

What is Fair Use?

Fair use is a provision in US Copyright law that allows the use of copyrighted materials on a limited basis for specific purposes without the permission of the copyright holder.

Four Factors of Fair Use

Purpose of use : Best if materials are nonprofit, educational, scholarly, or for research use; Alternatively, the use of the work may be transformative: repurposing, recontextualizing, creating a new purpose or meaning for the material.
Nature or type of work : The use of published, fact-based content is more likely to be considered fair use than unpublished or artistic content.
Amount used : Authors should only use the amount needed for a given purpose; Using small or less significant amounts is considered preferable.
Market effect : Reuse should consider if there would be an effect on the market or value of the original work when the reused content is shared. Fair use favors uses that do not affect the original works.

It is necessary to weigh all four factors to decide whether a fair use exemption seems to apply to a proposed reuse. Courts take a holistic approach -- they do not simply "add up" a positive or negative for each factor.

Judges have tended to focus on two questions that collapse the four factors:

Does the use transform the material, by using it for a different purpose?
Was the amount taken appropriate to the new purpose?

To support a fair use case for an image:

Use lower resolution or thumbnail versions where possible;
Place the image in a new context or use it for a new purpose; and
Use only the parts of the image needed for the purpose

Useful links

Fair Use Overview A clear overview of fair use: what it is and how to measure it, provided by Columbia University.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication From the Center for Social Media, American University

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The library's collections and services are available to all ISU students, faculty, and staff and Parks Library is open to the public .

Last Updated: Dec 19, 2023 2:12 PM
URL: https://instr.iastate.libguides.com/TDrights

Published By Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center

Measuring fair use: the four factors.

Unfortunately, the only way to get a definitive answer on whether a particular use is a fair use is to have it resolved in federal court. Judges use four factors to resolve fair use disputes, as discussed in detail below. It’s important to understand that these factors are only guidelines that courts are free to adapt to particular situations on a case‑by‑case basis. In other words, a judge has a great deal of freedom when making a fair use determination, so the outcome in any given case can be hard to predict.

The four factors judges consider are:

the purpose and character of your use
the nature of the copyrighted work
the amount and substantiality of the portion taken, and
the effect of the use upon the potential market.

Ignore Heading – Content

Ignore heading – sub heading content, ignore heading – sub table content, the transformative factor: the purpose and character of your use.

In a 1994 case, the Supreme Court emphasized this first factor as being an important indicator of fair use. At issue is whether the material has been used to help create something new or merely copied verbatim into another work. When taking portions of copyrighted work, ask yourself the following questions:

Has the material you have taken from the original work been transformed by adding new expression or meaning?
Was value added to the original by creating new information, new aesthetics, new insights, and understandings?

In a parody, for example, the parodist transforms the original by holding it up to ridicule. At the same time, a work does not become a parody simply because the author models characters after those found in a famous work.

Purposes such as scholarship, research, or education may also qualify as transformative uses because the work is the subject of review or commentary.

Determining what is transformative—and the degree of transformation—is often challenging. For example, the creation of a Harry Potter encyclopedia was determined to be “slightly transformative” (because it made the Harry Potter terms and lexicons available in one volume), but this transformative quality was not enough to justify a fair use defense in light of the extensive verbatim use of text from the Harry Potter books. ( Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. v. RDR Books , 575 F.Supp.2d 513 (S.D. N.Y. 2008).)

The Nature of the Copyrighted Work

Because the dissemination of facts or information benefits the public, you have more leeway to copy from factual works such as biographies than you do from fictional works such as plays or novels.

In addition, you will have a stronger case of fair use if you copy the material from a published work than an unpublished work. The scope of fair use is narrower for unpublished works because an author has the right to control the first public appearance of his or her expression.

The Amount and Substantiality of the Portion Taken

The less you take, the more likely that your copying will be excused as a fair use. However, even if you take a small portion of a work, your copying will not be a fair use if the portion taken is the “heart” of the work. In other words, you are more likely to run into problems if you take the most memorable aspect of a work. For example, it would probably not be a fair use to copy the opening guitar riff and the words “I can’t get no satisfaction” from the song “Satisfaction.”

This rule—less is more—is not necessarily true in parody cases. A parodist is permitted to borrow quite a bit, even the heart of the original work, in order to conjure up the original work. That’s because, as the Supreme Court has acknowledged, “the heart is also what most readily conjures up the [original] for parody, and it is the heart at which parody takes aim.” ( Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music , 510 U.S. 569 (1994).)

The Effect of the Use Upon the Potential Market

Another important fair use factor is whether your use deprives the copyright owner of income or undermines a new or potential market for the copyrighted work. Depriving a copyright owner of income is very likely to trigger a lawsuit. This is true even if you are not competing directly with the original work.

For example, in one case an artist used a copyrighted photograph without permission as the basis for wood sculptures, copying all elements of the photo. The artist earned several hundred thousand dollars selling the sculptures. When the photographer sued, the artist claimed his sculptures were a fair use because the photographer would never have considered making sculptures. The court disagreed, stating that it did not matter whether the photographer had considered making sculptures; what mattered was that a potential market for sculptures of the photograph existed. ( Rogers v. Koons , 960 F.2d 301 (2d Cir. 1992).)

Again, parody is given a slightly different fair use analysis with regard to the impact on the market. It’s possible that a parody may diminish or even destroy the market value of the original work. That is, the parody may be so good that the public can never take the original work seriously again. Although this may cause a loss of income, it’s not the same type of loss as when an infringer merely appropriates the work. As one judge explained, “The economic effect of a parody with which we are concerned is not its potential to destroy or diminish the market for the original—any bad review can have that effect—but whether it fulfills the demand for the original.” ( Fisher v. Dees , 794 F.2d 432 (9th Cir. 1986).)

The “Fifth” Fair Use Factor: Are You Good or Bad?

When you review fair use cases, you may find that they sometimes contradict one another or conflict with the rules expressed in this chapter. Fair use involves subjective judgments, often affected by factors such as a judge or jury’s personal sense of right or wrong. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has indicated that offensiveness is not a fair use factor, you should be aware that a morally offended judge or jury may rationalize its decision against fair use.

For example, in one case a manufacturer of novelty cards parodied the successful children’s dolls the Cabbage Patch Kids. The parody card series was entitled the Garbage Pail Kids and used gruesome and grotesque names and characters to poke fun at the wholesome Cabbage Patch image. Some copyright experts were surprised when a federal court considered the parody an infringement, not a fair use. ( Original Appalachian Artworks, Inc. v. Topps Chewing Gum, Inc. , 642 F.Supp. 1031 (N.D. Ga. 1986).)

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U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index

Index last updated November 2023

Welcome to the U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index. This Fair Use Index is a project undertaken by the Office of the Register in support of the 2013 Joint Strategic Plan on Intellectual Property Enforcement of the Office of the Intellectual Property Enforcement Coordinator ( IPEC ). Fair use is a longstanding and vital aspect of American copyright law. The goal of the Index is to make the principles and application of fair use more accessible and understandable to the public by presenting a searchable database of court opinions, including by category and type of use (e.g., music, internet/digitization, parody).

The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The decisions span multiple federal jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts. Please note that while the Index incorporates a broad selection of cases, it does not include all judicial opinions on fair use. The Copyright Office will update and expand the Index periodically.

The Fair Use Index is designed to be user-friendly. For each decision, we have provided a brief summary of the facts, the relevant question(s) presented, and the court’s determination as to whether the contested use was fair. You may browse all of the cases, search for cases involving specific subject matter or categories of work, or review cases from specific courts. The Index ordinarily will reflect only the highest court decision issued in a case. It does not include the court opinions themselves. We have provided the full legal citation, however, allowing those who wish to read the actual decisions to access them through free online resources (such as Google Scholar and Justia), commercial databases (such as Westlaw and LEXIS), or the federal courts’ PACER electronic filing system, available at www.pacer.gov .

Although the Fair Use Index should prove helpful in understanding what courts have to date considered to be fair or not fair, it is not a substitute for legal advice. Fair use is a judge-created doctrine dating back to the nineteenth century and codified in the 1976 Copyright Act. Both the fact patterns and the legal application have evolved over time, and you should seek legal assistance as necessary and appropriate.

We hope you find the Fair Use Index a helpful resource. If you are concerned as to whether a particular use is fair, however, or believe that someone has made an unauthorized use of a copyrighted work in a manner that is not fair, it is best to consult an attorney.

Please note that the Copyright Office is unable to provide specific legal advice to individual members of the public about questions of fair use. See 37 C.F.R. 201.2(a)(3) .

About Fair Use

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: Courts look at how the party claiming fair use is using the copyrighted work, and are more likely to find that nonprofit educational and noncommercial uses are fair. This does not mean, however, that all nonprofit education and noncommercial uses are fair and all commercial uses are not fair; instead, courts will balance the purpose and character of the use against the other factors below. Additionally, “transformative” uses are more likely to be considered fair. Transformative uses are those that add something new, with a further purpose or different character, and do not substitute for the original use of the work.
Nature of the copyrighted work: This factor analyzes the degree to which the work that was used relates to copyright’s purpose of encouraging creative expression. Thus, using a more creative or imaginative work (such as a novel, movie, or song) is less likely to support a claim of a fair use than using a factual work (such as a technical article or news item). In addition, use of an unpublished work is less likely to be considered fair.
Amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole: Under this factor, courts look at both the quantity and quality of the copyrighted material that was used. If the use includes a large portion of the copyrighted work, fair use is less likely to be found; if the use employs only a small amount of copyrighted material, fair use is more likely. That said, some courts have found use of an entire work to be fair under certain circumstances. And in other contexts, using even a small amount of a copyrighted work was determined not to be fair because the selection was an important part—or the “heart”—of the work.
Effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: Here, courts review whether, and to what extent, the unlicensed use harms the existing or future market for the copyright owner’s original work. In assessing this factor, courts consider whether the use is hurting the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original) and/or whether the use could cause substantial harm if it were to become widespread.

In addition to the above, other factors may also be considered by a court in weighing a fair use question, depending upon the circumstances. Courts evaluate fair use claims on a case-bycase basis, and the outcome of any given case depends on a fact-specific inquiry. This means that there is no formula to ensure that a predetermined percentage or amount of a work—or specific number of words, lines, pages, copies—may be used without permission.

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Letters Policy

Volume 56 | ISSUE 24: July 26, 2024

Teaching and the legal landscape: primer on the fair use doctrine in copyright law.

By J. D. WRIGHT

As the fall semester hurtles toward us, along with decisions about what readings and other materials we’ll assign as homework or present in class, think about the implications of posting copyrighted works on Canvas or presenting them in class. What is acceptable, and what trespasses beyond permissible bounds? Considerations like these are ripe for exploration as we engage in the regular ritual of preparing courses for a new term.

Our question is: Does the Fair Use Doctrine exempt a copyrighted work from the general rule requiring rights-holder approval before someone else can distribute that content?

Applying U.S. intellectual property law, including the Fair Use Doctrine, can be a maddeningly fact-specific process that makes broad generalizations incomplete, unreliable, or even dangerous. However, we can outline some basic principles and a set of steps to follow as you make important decisions about what to redistribute or duplicate—and what not to. In close cases, play it safe or seek legal guidance; this article provides background and context, not legal advice.

What Is copyright?

A creator owns an original work that has been fixed in a tangible form from the moment of its creation, automatically. That legal right gives the creator the exclusive privilege to duplicate and distribute the work, to perform it, and to sell it.

Copyright , in brief, is the right to copy. Thus, a copyright holder may require other people to secure permission before using the work. Much like patents and other forms of intellectual property, copyright protections incentivize creators to produce useful content; in the words of the U.S. Constitution, which allocates this authority to the federal government, these protections “promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts.” That goal, coupled with the federal interest in free expression, is a touchstone of much copyright law .

What Is Fair Use?

To promote freedom of expression and vigorous discourse, section 107 of the Copyright Act carves out an exemption to copyright protections by declaring the “fair use” of otherwise-copyrighted material to be permissible even without advance approval.

Fair uses include “purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research,” and the rationale for permitting those uses is the value of preserving dialogue and learning untrammeled by the creator’s interest in profit and exclusivity.

However, neither teaching’s status as a possible fair use nor the act’s explicit reference to “multiple copies for classroom use” makes the pedagogical use of copyrighted material part of an unregulated free-for-all.

Teaching is only an example of a possible fair use, not a blanket exemption from copyright. Rather, the act requires that we consider and balance four factors “in determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use”:

1. The “purpose and character” of the use, including whether the use is commercial.

2. The “nature of the copyrighted work,” including whether it is imaginative or factual.

3. The “amount and substantiality” of the portion used, e.g. copying a paragraph versus a chapter or the entire text.

4. The “effect of the use on the potential market” for the copyrighted work, e.g. whether the use can diminish sales of the work.

Because no single factor is definitive, the conscientious user has a lot to consider before clicking copy or upload, and bright-line answers are scarce.

Thinking through fair use questions

Although each fair use factor has spurred reems of commentary and precedent, we can distill some thoughts to help guide your independent analysis.

Purpose and character of the use. Fair use embodies an interest in free expression and the expansion of knowledge, so copyright law is more likely to recognize a use as fair if it helps to accomplish those aims. In intellectual property parlance, this is a question of “transformative use.” Are you just handing out unaltered copies of someone else’s creativity and effort? Or are you adding commentary, critique, counterpoint, a revision, an explanation or some other valuable, original contribution that augments our fund of understanding? An editorial note attached to an article excerpt, your summary of its significance, or an accompanying set of discussion questions can bolster your transformative use credentials — and they can be strong pedagogical choices.

Nature of the work . Copyright law can be understood as an incentive for content creators: “Make something new, groundbreaking or beautiful,” we can imagine the law saying, “and the government will help to ensure that you can enjoy the fruits of your ingenuity.” Therefore, a highly creative work like a poem, play, novel, statue, song or painting lies very close to the heart of what copyright is designed to protect.

Reportage, factual findings, observations and raw data, on the other hand, reside closer to the fringes. Unless it yields a patentable discovery or invention, there’s a strong societal interest in making pure information widely available. Where does the work that you want to use fall on the spectrum? A news article is more susceptible to fair use than a portrait, for example, so if you’re using a creative work, you might need to invest more effort to align the other factors with the aims of the law.

Amount and substantiality of the portion used. It seems intuitive that the more material we use from a protected work the more careful we need to be before calling the use fair. But defining your scope of use isn’t always simple. If you post Sylvia Plath’s poem “Daddy” on Canvas, does that count as reproducing the entire work, or do we consider it a small excerpt from the anthology “Ariel”? And how important is your excerpt to the whole work? Are you reproducing the famous and influential chorus of B.B. King’s “The Thrill Is Gone” or just isolating highlights of the percussion performance? The closer you get to the “heart of the work,” the more likely you could be trespassing on the copyright. Finally, considering the purpose of your use, is your excerpt larger than necessary to accomplish that aim, or have you limited your use to only the essential portions?

Market effect of the use . Dollars and cents matter in analyzing intellectual property questions. If your use might deprive the rights-holder of profits, then you face greater jeopardy. Reproducing a single Ansel Adams image probably wouldn’t impair the ability of his estate to profit from sales of photograph collections. In fact, offering a portion of the work to a new audience could enhance its market value. But reproducing an entire published collection, particularly if sales of the collection were low, would trigger closer scrutiny. And are you or someone else profiting? Are you charging admission to an out-of-class screening of “Blade Runner,” or are you showing a clip without charge in the classroom?

Sources of help

The Fair Use Evaluator is a step-by-step questionnaire that will generate a “fairness” score after you supply information about each of the Copyright Act’s four fair use factors. You shouldn’t rely on it to give you a binding determination, but having a record that you made the inquiry can be beneficial if your use of the material is later challenged; the record shows that you acted in good faith. Yale’s Fair Use Analysis Tool isn’t as high-tech — it’s a fillable PDF with supplemental questions and information about each fair use element — but it’s useful as a guide to careful, informed thinking. Pitt has an official policy and a useful toolkit to consult.

A fair use analysis doesn’t just tell you whether you can reproduce material; it can help you to decide how to use it. Maybe uploading an MP3 of Philip Glass’s “10,000 Airplanes on the Roof” to Canvas is too risky, so link to a YouTube clip instead. Or dub a commentary over the recording to highlight features that you’ll emphasize in class. Or upload a short excerpt to directly illustrate a point that you plan to discuss. Your students will appreciate that you stick to what’s essential, and it might save you some legal headaches in the process.

If you need help modifying your course materials after rethinking fair use, contact the Teaching Center to schedule a consultation. Office of University Counsel provides “advice and counsel to the University of Pittsburgh community” on “legal and policy matters involving or affecting the University” (but not on personal legal issues); contact your school or department leadership if you face a policy-related concern that seems to be more than you can handle, and that team can in turn reach out to University Counsel in an appropriate case.

J. D. Wright, who earned his law degree from William and Mary and his PhD from Pitt, is a teaching consultant with the University Center for Teaching and Learning. He can be reached at [email protected] .

Copyright Clearance Center - Copyright & Licensing Experts

True or False? Addressing Common Assumptions About Copyright and AI

By Beth Johnson 31 July 2024

Copyrighted materials are the fuel for artificial intelligence (AI) systems, but misunderstandings persist about how copyright applies to the use of content as training material for AI models. These misunderstandings extend to content used in end user applications of AI, such as the summarization of collections of articles, interrogation of documents for insights, automation of literature screening, and creation of visualizations of content sets, among others.

Let’s explore some common assumptions about copyright and AI and address several widely held misunderstandings on the subject.

True or False? No copies are made during the process of training generative AI systems. The “machine” is only reading the content and learning from it, just like a human would.

False. There are a number of differences in the way humans and machines learn. Humans learn through a combination of direct experience, observation, imitation, and abstract thinking, while large language models (LLMs) “learn” from the processing of vast amounts of training data, which is copied and stored.

The process of training LLMs involves feeding the models enormous quantities of data, which can consist of text, images, and audio and video files. The use of copyrighted content is paramount because it contains high-quality, diverse materials covering a wide range of topics, styles, and complexities. These materials allow AI providers to create more versatile and robust models that in turn produce more reliable outputs.

LLMs retain expressions of the original works on which they have been trained. Generally, LLMs make and store local copies of their training materials to accelerate the learning process and provide access to the original dataset. The content is then “tokenized” (sentences are broken down to words and phrases, and words are broken down into characters) to ensure that the text data can be converted into a format that the LLMs can process, while preserving the semantic structure and meaning of the original work. LLMs recognize the context of words based on the expression of those words in the original work, and these systems are able to recall significant portions, and in some cases, entire works, verbatim. The copying and retention of these works in AI systems and their reproduction in outputs implicates copyright, making appropriate licensing essential for copyright compliance.

2. True or False? Using copyrighted content for training LLM systems is fair use.

It depends. At present, there are numerous copyright infringement cases brought by authors, publishers, and other rightsholders against AI companies regarding the use of their content in the training of LLMs without consent. These cases are still being litigated. Some AI companies defend their use of copyrighted materials as “fair use.” In the United States, the fair use doctrine promotes the freedom of expression by allowing the unlicensed use of a copyrighted work under certain circumstances (e.g., criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research ).

Determining if a particular use qualifies as fair use is a highly fact-specific inquiry; each case is different and must be evaluated individually. There is no blanket rule or exception under fair use that uniformly applies to all AI-related activities. Securing appropriate licenses is the best way to gain permission for uses of copyrighted content, including for certain activities related to AI.

3. True or False? I can avoid all copyright infringement issues by only using open access (OA) content with AI systems.

False. When using OA content, it’s important to understand the type of OA license under which the content is made available. A Creative Commons license, for example, is a type of OA license that itself has six main types , each granting a different set of permissions for use under a specific set of conditions, including attribution. While some of those licenses authorize use for commercial purposes, several specify that use is limited only for non-commercial purposes. In addition, some rightsholders use their own forms of OA licenses that have different terms from the Creative Commons licenses.

Although some OA licenses are more permissive, it is crucial to understand and adhere to the specific OA license terms.

4. True or False? Copyright stands in the way of innovation.

False. Copyright law in the United States was created for the purpose of promoting science and the useful arts . The U.S. Constitution recognizes in the Copyright Clause (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8) that authors have the right to benefit from their creations for a limited time. Copyright fosters innovation by providing creators with financial incentives, legal protections, and recognition for their creative contributions. Copyright has long supported advancements in technology, from the invention of the photocopier through the development of the internet. Licensing, both direct and collective, provides a convenient way to respect copyright and support innovation. Appropriate remuneration for use of copyrighted material encourages investment in research and development, promotion of technological advancements, and support for diverse forms of creative expression. Copyright continues to play a vital role in driving innovation and economic growth in society.

For more information, please visit our AI, Copyright & Licensing insight page.

Drive Business Forward with the Annual Copyright License

A copyright compliance strategy that informs and meets the needs of employees across the enterprise sets an organization up for higher efficiency, improved collaboration, and a minimized risk of copyright infringement, ultimately helping to fuel innovation and new discoveries.

Click here to contact us about content management and licensing solutions for your organization.

Deadline to enter fair competitions Aug. 1

The deadline to submit entries for 4-H/FFA and Open Class competitions at the 2024 Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo is Aug. 1.

All entries are due by 4:30 p.m. unless indicated otherwise in the fair book. Late entries will not be accepted. The annual event is scheduled for Aug. 13-18 at the Flathead County Fairgrounds.

Exhibitors can view a digital version of the fair book and enter competitions at nwmtfair.com/fairbook. The book contains information about rules, premiums and more.

A self-service computer station is accessible in the fair office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday for exhibitors without computer access or those needing assistance with their entries. Fair staff will be available to help during office hours.

For more information about the Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo or to purchase event tickets, visit nwmtfair.com or call (406) 758-5810.

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South Africa Rejects Copyright Lobby Critique, Defends Broad ‘Fair Use’ Exceptions

Home > Law and Politics >

South Africa has been trying to update its copyright law for several years now. President Ramaphosa previously sent two bills back to the drawing broad, after U.S. copyright groups described the broad fair use exceptions as dangerous. While critique persists, the South African Government is now taking a firm stand, openly stating that broad fair use exceptions are a feature, not a bug.

Whether it’s movies, music, software or other goods, U.S. companies are among the global market leaders.

To protect the interests of these businesses around the world, copyright holder groups can count on help from the U.S. Government. The annual list of ‘ notorious markets ,’ for example, is a well-known diplomatic mechanism to encourage other countries to up their enforcement actions and improve laws.

The same is true for trade deals and other policies, which often require trade partners to take action in favor of copyright holder interests.

The International Intellectual Property Alliance ( IIPA ), which represents the ESA, MPA, and RIAA, among others, has been the voice of major entertainment industries on this front. The Alliance regularly encourages the U.S. to further the international interests of its members, including in Africa.

The African Growth and Opportunity Act

A few weeks ago, the IIPA published its views on the latest eligibility review of the African Growth and Opportunity Act ( AGOA ). This process, led by the U.S. Trade Representative ( USTR ), determines which sub-Saharan African countries can enjoy certain trade benefits or, on the other end of the spectrum, be sanctioned.

This isn’t the first review of its kind; we have reported on similar efforts in the past and the most recent review features much of the same critique.

IIPA is concerned that South Africa isn’t doing enough to deter copyright infringement. There are also grave concerns that proposed “fair use” exceptions, which are partly modeled after U.S. law but go further on some issues, could lead to problems in the African country.

The critique from rightsholders hasn’t gone unnoticed by South Africa. President Ramaphosa previously sent the Copyright Amendment Bill (CAB) back to Parliament for a thorough review. That was four years ago and the South African Government is now making it clear that it doesn’t intend to let external forces dictate its law.

South Africa Defends Broad Fair Use Exceptions

This week, the Government sent a response to the USTR addressing IIPA’s critique. It points out that the copyright law hasn’t been implemented yet, so it wouldn’t make sense for the U.S. to use it as a basis for sanctions.

Technicalities aside, South Africa openly rejects IIPA’s critique. The copyright group’s arguments are not new; they were discussed during open review processes and considered by parliament, which simply disagrees with the notion that broad fair use exceptions are a problem.

Specifically, IIPA complained that the new law would create an “overbroad amalgamation of copyright exceptions that includes an expansive ‘fair use’ rubric” that’s “appended to a large number of extremely open-ended new exceptions and limitations to copyright protection, resulting in an unclear thicket of exceptions and limitations.”

In short, this means that the existing ‘fair dealing’ language will be extended with many ‘fair use’ exceptions, allowing the public to use copyrighted material without being punished for it. This can be for educational purposes, for example, but also for personal use as long as it passes the four fair use factors , which also are used in the US.

Regardless of the details, the South African Government says that it doesn’t plan to go back to the drawing board again.

“The issues IIPA has raised are not new and have been addressed previously and the public participation processes in Parliament recently have considered them again,” South Africa writes.

Unlike the IIPA, the Government of South Africa believes that its fair use proposal will benefit society as a whole. Better yet, it may even have a positive effect on the economy.

“Fair dealing in our current Copyright Act is outdated, limited and static, and does not address the digital world. Fair use, on the other hand, is progressive, dynamic and future proof and ‘digital-friendly’.

“Globally, research has found that fair use has not impacted negatively on the economy. On the contrary, there is evidence that shows that countries with open exceptions and fair use have high levels of innovation, economic growth and development,” South Africa adds.

US-Inspired and Innovation-Friendly

In its letter, the South African Government notes that more regimes are moving away from a closed list of fair dealing exceptions, to a more open system that can deal with future technologies and innovation.

The United States has set the example in this regard, with its fair use language that has been pretty much unchanged for nearly half a century.

“It is a fact that fair use was coded in the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976 and has not had to be amended, as it applies to new technologies as they arise,” South Africa writes.

“Other countries have also adopted fair use in their copyright laws and more countries are considering it, because it is ‘future-proof’ and benefits users and producers of information and knowledge. Its four factors give clarity to what can be used and reused.”

The letter makes it clear that the concerns of IIPA and other rightsholder groups have been noted, but no more than that. South Africa clearly wants to move forward and this direct pushback against the lingering demands of the copyright lobby shows that the time for negotiations and backroom meetings has passed.

The Copyright Amendment Bill was formally adopted by South Africa’s Parliament in February, and was sent to President Ramaphosa for approval.

A copy of IIPA’s original critique, submitted in early June, can be found here (pdf) . This includes many other points and issues that we didn’t discuss. South Africa’s repsonse is available here (pdf) .

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From 2 years ago….

Library Lending Suspended; Study Rooms Taken Offline INFODesk moved to Clough; buildings remain open

More Info >>

New for Fall 2024: Users of breakout and study rooms must check in

You asked, and we listened: Starting Fall 2024, users of all breakout and study rooms must check in within 10 minutes, or the reservation will be cancelled. The room will then be open to any user.

Users simply need to check in at the touchscreen monitor of each room, said John Mack Freeman, Assistant Dean for Interdisciplinary Initiatives and Director of Clough Undergraduate Learning Commons. There will no changes to the established reservation process.

“We’ve heard students loud and clear: If you reserve a study or breakout room, you have to physically show up and use it,” he said. “Otherwise, after 10 minutes it will revert back to open use, meaning anyone can reserve the room.”

To book space in one of the Library or Clough breakout or study rooms, simply visit https://library.gatech.edu/spaces-technology/reserve .

To learn more about reservations limits, student organization use and more, visit https://library.gatech.edu/spaces-technology/faq-policies .

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COMMENTS

Fair Use, Copyright, Patent, and Publishing Options
Use the delayed release (embargo) option if a patent application is or will be in process, noting the reason for the delay as "patent pending.". If you have any questions, please contact Cornell's Center for Technology Licensing at 607-254-4698 or [email protected]. 5.
Using Others' Work
If the work used is factual, that will weigh in favor of fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the work used. If the work used is unpublished, that will weigh against fair use. However, the fair use statute explicitly states that the unpublished nature of a work will not bar fair use if the use is otherwise fair.
Fair Use
Fair use is an affirmative defense (in other words, a person can still be sued for copyright violations even if the use is almost certainly a fair one--since fair use is an affirmative defense, the burden is on the person making the copy (the user of the work) to justify the use as a fair use.
Using Others' Content
If the work used is factual, that will weigh in favor of fair use. The outcome of this subfactor varies depending on the work used. If the work used is unpublished, that will weigh against fair use. However, the fair use statute explicitly states that the unpublished nature of a work will not bar fair use if the use is otherwise fair.
PDF Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis: Ownership, Fair Use, and
may be fair use or need permission. o If you are in the middle of your graduate study and plan to publish some of your research, choose a publisher that will accommodate your dissertation plans, and study closely the terms of the publication agreement. o If you are completing your dissertation, evaluate and select the options about Creative
Copyright and Your Thesis
However, attention to copyright can help avoid pitfalls and reveal opportunities to further your scholarly goals. Given the way that the law operates, copyright law most certainly protects your dissertation as well as the quotations, photographs, music, diagrams, and many other works that you have included in your doctoral study.
Theses & copyright
Obtaining permission for use. If you determine that you should seek permission to reuse someone's work, here are some places to go: In general, MIT owns the copyright in MIT theses. If you want to reuse parts of a student's (or your own) MIT thesis, contact [email protected]. If you want to reuse a portion of a book or article, an ...
Fair Use Guidelines
Images & Graphics. Our guidance about the use of images and graphics as fair use is affected significantly by the fourth fair use factor. It is often difficult or even impossible to get permission to use images and graphics. This situation is changing in some fields where it is now possible to license databases of quality images at reasonable ...
Fair Use
While no use is always "fair," some uses are looked upon more favorably by the congress and the courts than others. A transformative use of a work - using an existing work for a new purpose or in an unexpected way - has weighed in favor of fair use in many court cases decided in recent decades. Even highly commercial uses have been judged "fair" by the U.S. Supreme Court, demonstrating the ...
Copyright, Fair Use, and Other Rights
An explanation of the "four factors" that determine whether an intended reuse counts as fair use or not under U.S. copyright law and a searchable index of past cases decided on the topic. A checklist to help authors determine how the four factors apply to the reuse of a work and whether or not that use is, indeed, fair use.
Copyright for Graduate Students: Theses and Dissertations
When writing a thesis or a dissertation, you have two sets of copyrights you should bear in mind. Your own copyright as author of the thesis or dissertation; and; The copyright owned by others in the material you incorporate into your thesis or dissertation. This guide will discuss both issues.
Copyright for Graduate Students: Theses and Dissertations
When copyright expires, the work becomes public domain. Ideas can't be copyrighted, only the tangible expression in a fixed medium of the idea can. Facts can't be copyrighted, either. You may use any copyrighted material under the "fair use" doctrine, within fair use guidelines. If something looks copyrighted, assume it is.
Research Guides: Dissertations and Theses: Copyright
In U.S. copyright law, the doctrine of "fair use" allows everyone to use copyrighted work without permission, under certain conditions. For the most part, reproducing material in your dissertation or thesis will fall under the umbrella of fair use -- however, you should carefully consider whether or not an argument for fair use can be made ...
LibGuides: Copyright Help for Theses and Other Projects: Fair Use
A fair use checklist is a tool you can use to help you decide if your use is fair. A fair use checklist is a decision-making tool; in the end, you still have to make your own determination. What the checklist can do is let you know what kinds of things favor fair use and what kinds of things oppose it, giving you a framework for thinking about ...
Fair Use and Copyright
Fair use is a provision in copyright law that allows the use of a certain amount of copyrighted material without seeking permission from the rightsholder. This means fair use may apply to images (including photographs, illustrations, and paintings), quoting at length from literature, videos, and music regardless of the format.
LibGuides: Copyright and Fair Use: Theses and Dissertations
Below, is a checklist of activities to conduct before and during the writing of your thesis or dissertation. If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact Fondren Library Publishing Services using this webform or email [email protected]. Familiarize yourself with the basics of U.S. copyright law, including the public domain and fair use.
PDF Copyright in your thesis or dissertation
use a work from the copyright owner can take time. Do not wait until the last minute! For more information on the permission process and sample permission request letters, visit . go.osu.edu/permission Relying on fair use: Fair use is a defense that permits certain uses of copyrighted works without the permission of the copyright owner. A fair ...
Copyright in Your Thesis or Dissertation
Fair use is determined on a case-by-case basis and will require you to evaluate how and why you are including copyrighted works in your thesis or dissertation; using only the amount of the work needed to support your scholarship will help to strengthen your fair use defense.
Fair use and your work
Fair use favors uses that do not affect the original works. It is necessary to weigh all four factors to decide whether a fair use exemption seems to apply to a proposed reuse. Courts take a holistic approach -- they do not simply "add up" a positive or negative for each factor.
Published By Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center
Fair use involves subjective judgments, often affected by factors such as a judge or jury's personal sense of right or wrong. Despite the fact that the Supreme Court has indicated that offensiveness is not a fair use factor, you should be aware that a morally offended judge or jury may rationalize its decision against fair use.
Fair Use (FAQ)
Under the fair use doctrine of the U.S. copyright statute, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. There are no legal rules permitting the use of a specific number of words, a certain number of musical notes, or percentage of a work. ...
U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index
The Fair Use Index tracks a variety of judicial decisions to help both lawyers and non-lawyers better understand the types of uses courts have previously determined to be fair—or not fair. The decisions span multiple federal jurisdictions, including the U.S. Supreme Court, circuit courts of appeal, and district courts.
PDF Copyright and Your Dissertation or Thesis
Legal use, without permission, of copyrighted work is limited to "fair use" of the work. Educational and research use is not necessarily "fair use", especially if the work is published, as your dissertation or thesis will be with ProQuest and as (hopefully) many of your future journal articles or books will be. You may be better off acquiring
Teaching and the Legal Landscape: Primer on the Fair Use Doctrine in
Purpose and character of the use. Fair use embodies an interest in free expression and the expansion of knowledge, so copyright law is more likely to recognize a use as fair if it helps to accomplish those aims. In intellectual property parlance, this is a question of "transformative use."
True or False? Addressing Common Assumptions About Copyright and AI
In the United States, the fair use doctrine promotes the freedom of expression by allowing the unlicensed use of a copyrighted work under certain circumstances (e.g., criticism, commentary, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research). Determining if a particular use qualifies as fair use is a highly fact-specific inquiry; each case is ...
From fair dealing to fair use : Striking a balance between competing
In founding its argument and addressing the core issue, the dissertation explores the idea of competing interests and its nexus with the exceptions and limitations in copyright law. Further, it engages in a comparative study to juxtapose the fair dealing and fair use provisions as employed in South Africa and other countries like the United ...
Deadline to enter fair competitions Aug. 1
The deadline to submit entries for 4-H/FFA and Open Class competitions at the 2024 Northwest Montana Fair & Rodeo is Aug. 1. All entries are due by 4:30 p.m. unless indicated otherwise in the fair ...
South Africa Rejects Copyright Lobby Critique, Defends Broad 'Fair Use
The copyright group's arguments are not new; they were discussed during open review processes and considered by parliament, which simply disagrees with the notion that broad fair use exceptions ...
New for Fall 2024: Users of breakout and study rooms must check in
You asked, and we listened: Starting Fall 2024, users of all breakout and study rooms must check in within 10 minutes, or the reservation will be cancelled. The room will then be open to any user.