In the context of this policy, reproduction refers to reproducing material in either physical or digital format, including photocopying or printing copies, as well as scanning, transmitting, and/or downloading a digital copy. Ordinarily, reproducing copyrighted material without the permission of the copyright owner is a violation of the exclusive rights of the copyright owner. The Copyright Act balances user’s rights by creating limited exceptions from these exclusive rights, such as allowing copying for face-to- face teaching or fair use. Furthermore, reproduction is completely unrestricted for some works, while unauthorized copying is always forbidden for other types of materials.
A. Reproductions Unrestricted by Copyright or in the Public Domain
Public domain works are those no longer covered by copyright law or otherwise not restricted by copyright law. These do not require permission, a license, or a fee to use. Works become part of public domain when their copyright has expired or if the authors explicitly enter the work into the public domain.
1. Expiration of Copyright
Anyone may copy, without restriction, published works for which the copyright term and any renewals have expired. The following guidelines apply to works published in the United States where “publication” is defined to mean the distribution of copies of a work to the public by sale or other transfer of ownership, or by rental, lease, or loan. A “notice of copyright” is defined as the copyright symbol or the word "copyright" plus the first year of publication and the name of the copyright owner.
Works in the public domain are those:
a. published in the United States before 1923,
b. published with a copyright notice from 1923 through 1963 without copyright renewal,
c. published without a copyright notice from 1923 through 1977, or
d. published without a copyright notice from 1978 through March 1, 1989, and without subsequent copyright registration within 5 years.
Works not in the public domain are those:
a. created or published after March 1, 1989, even if no notice of copyright notice is affixed, or
b. published in 1978 to date, since they are protected for 70 years after the death of the author, or 95 years if the work has a corporate author.
For further distinctions, refer to Public Domain Evaluators on the CNU Copyright Resources: Fair Use page.
2. Works assigned to the public domain by their creators
While not often done, some creators may give up their copyright rights and designate their works as public domain. This may be done with a written dedication by the author clearly expressing his or her intent.
B. Reproductions Under Conditional or Limited Permissions
While not in the public domain, many works will have conditional permissions which allow their reproduction and use in certain circumstances. Examples of these materials are publisher provided supplemental materials and materials published under the Creative Commons licensing system or other published licensing system. In those circumstances, reproduction rights will depend upon the permissions granted by the author/creator.
Reproduction of this material requires complying with the limits provided by the copyright holder and may involve researching the terms of use, terms and conditions, or licenses of the content or digital provider.
More information on specific published license systems, including Creative Commons and Open Source software license designations, may be found on the CNU Copyright Resources page.
C. Reproductions Permitted as Fair Use
The concept of fair use is described in Section III.C.: Fair Use. In 1976, the House of Representatives published guidelines for classroom reproduction of books and periodicals in a House Report accompanying the copyright legislation. The guidelines were an attempt to help educators interpret Congress’s intent for the fair use provisions. They included limiting copying to one chapter or 10% of a book or printed musical work, whichever is less, and one article from a periodical issue. These guidelines were not part of the Copyright Act and are not legally binding, but have stood as acceptable guidelines for decades. As discussed below, however, recent case law has called into question the legality of these guidelines.
For teaching and for scholarly research, instructors may make reproductions of the material as long as they include the notice of copyright and meet the tests of brevity, spontaneity, and cumulative effect as defined below:
1. Brevity
In 2014, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals decision in Cambridge Univ. Press v. Patton rejected the idea that any specific predetermined amount of reproduction is acceptable (including the one chapter or 10% of the work guideline). Instead, the amount of a work that may be claimed as fair use is flexible and is to be determined on a case by case basis. The amount used should be appropriate to the educational purpose, reasonable, and of limited portions. Whole works, such as entire films, books, or scores will rarely qualify as fair use.
2. Spontaneity
Applies when the decision to use the work and the moment of its use for maximum teaching effectiveness are so close in time that it would be unreasonable to expect a timely reply to a request for permission. Faculty members are expected to apply the test of spontaneity in good faith, and not use procrastination or poor planning as an excuse to claim fair use.
3. Cumulative Effect
To follow the intentions of fair use, the material copied should be for use in one course and the cumulative portion of a work or periodical volume should follow the brevity guidelines. For example, reproducing three separate book chapters from the same book over the course of the semester may not be considered fair use since the cumulative amount of the work used could be considered to be an unreasonable amount. A four factor analysis of fair use would need to be conducted on the entire amount used, not each piece.
D. Reproductions for Which Permission Must Be Obtained
1. Course Packs
A course pack is a compilation of book excerpts, journal, magazine, or newspaper articles, internet readings, and other materials selected by an instructor to be distributed to students as required or supplemental reading. Copyright must be obtained when materials are used in this manner to create, replace, or substitute for anthologies, compilations, or collective works. This applies whether the material is provided as printed handouts and or as digital files uploaded into a learning management system, such as CNU Scholar. Reproductions shall not be a substitute for the purchase of books or periodicals.
To create a collection of readings for students to be used as a textbook, course packs may be officially published, with copyright permissions obtained. This is done by contacting the Assistant to the Provost, Pamela Gaddis. Resulting texts will be sold via Follett, the University’s online bookstore.
2. Consumable Works
Unless specifically allowed by license with publisher, there shall be no physical or digital reproduction of or from works intended to be "consumable" in the course of studying or teaching. These include workbooks, exercises, standardized tests, standardized cognitive/mental tests, test booklets and answer sheets, and similar consumable material. This use has a direct effect on the market.