Join the crowd. Let's be honest: nobody, except maybe lawyers, likes dealing with copyright. It is a complex mashup of laws, guidelines, and rules that befuddle everybody. Ironically, the chief reason copyright is so complex is that the law really does try satisfying everyone, guaranteeing no one is satisfied.

Copyright law, as defined in Title 17 of the United States Code, protects "original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression" for a limited period. Copyright protection includes, for instance, the legal right to publish and sell literary, artistic, or musical work, and copyright protects authors, publishers and producers, and the public. Copyright applies both to traditional media (books, records, etc.) and to digital media (electronic journals, web sites, etc.).

Fair use is a concept embedded in U.S. law that recognizes that certain uses of copyright-protected works do not require permission from the copyright holder. 

The following four factors are used to determine if a use is fair:

1. The purpose of the use (commercial vs. educational)*
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount of the material used (the greater the amount copied, the less likely it is fair use)
4. The effect of use on the potential market for or value of the work

* Not all uses in an academic context are automatically considered fair use!

Copyright Slider Tool to determine if a work is still protected by copyright.

Fair Use Evaluator to collect, organize, and document the information needed to support a fair use claim, and provides a time-stamped PDF document for the users records.

Fair Use Analysis Tool to determine if a use is fair.