e-Reserves: Copyright Guidelines

Policy for Access to Copyrighted Materials placed on Electronic Reserves

The University Libraries' policy for access to copyrighted materials placed on Electronic Reserves is derived from the fair use provisions of the United States Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 of the Copyright Act specifically mentions the making of multiple copies for classroom use as qualifying for fair use protections, assuming the circumstances of the use also satisfy the "four factor" test.

"Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified in that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use, the factors to be considered shall include:

1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature, or is for non-profit educational use;
2. the nature of the copyrighted work;
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The collections of the University of Colorado, Boulder libraries are purchased for the nonprofit educational use of our students and faculty, with the understanding that there will be multiple uses of a limited number of copies. Libraries frequently pay premium institutional subscription prices for journals, expressly for the privilege of supporting multiple academic users. The sole purpose of Electronic Reserves will be to facilitate the making of multiple copies for classroom use by students.

The University Libraries will adhere to the following procedures in order to insure that items placed on Electronic Reserves conform to the spirit and letter of the 1976 Copyright Law, and the fair use provisions encoded therein:

• Materials will be placed on Electronic Reserves solely at the initiative of University of Colorado, Boulder faculty for the non-commercial, educational use of their students.
  
  
• Materials not owned by the University Libraries will be purchased whenever possible; if purchase is not possible, a licensing fee will be paid to the publisher if use of the material exceeds Fair Use.
  
  
• There will be no charge for students to access Electronic Reserves. There is a nominal per page printing fee charged at most campus printers, through the Campus Printing Initiative.
  
  
• A copyright notice will appear on screen and must be acknowledged before the student is permitted to access materials on Electronic Reserves.
  
  
• Materials on Electronic Reserves will be accessible only by faculty name or course number.
  
  
• Students may access materials on Electronic Reserves only by entering their IdentiKey username and password.
  
  
• Electronic documents will be deleted from the E-reserves system when they are no longer used for course instruction.
  
  
• The University Libraries will adhere to the principles of Fair Use when placing materials on Electronic Reserves.

The scanning of copyright-protected works for electronic course reserves is an unsettled area of the law which may be addressed by the Supreme Court or in future revisions of the copyright statute. The CU Boulder Libraries will continually monitor legal developments which may affect the current guidelines, and reserves the right to alter these guidelines if deemed appropriate.

• UCB: Copyright (Website)
• UCB: Fair Use -- Using Copyrighted Materials in Teaching, Research and Learning Environments
  
  
• Copyright Advisory Network (American Library Association)