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Recently, a Federal court issued a ruling on suit brought by a number of major publishers against Georgia State University claiming that their "e-Reserves" system violated copyright laws. While the suit is not final and the publishers are said to be considering appeal, the initial rulings suggest an easing of the narrowest interpretations of Fair Use and ongoing support for the educational uses of copyrighted content.
However!!!!
These rulings also point to a clear and formal responsibility on the part of the user to evaluate each use on its own merits and on a number of factors.
Fortunately, anything that provides clearer boundaries makes it easier to judge a specific case and it also points to tools that can assist you in a specific situation.
A number of institutions have developed a "Fair Use Checklist" and the existence of such a tool in the Georgia case was cited in the decision.
There are many, but here's one that popped out close to the top of a recent Google search;
http://copyright.columbia.edu/copyright/files/2009/10/fairusechecklist.pdf
There are others that are very similar.
Stay tuned. We'll try and get something similar for our needs posted to Communication Services web site soon.
Don't forget....when in doubt, ask permission.
Bob Sams
