By Sue Kunda
U.S. Copyright Law grants a number of exclusive rights to copyright owners, but those rights have various limitations. One of those limitations, fair use, is both a blessing and a curse for educators. It’s a blessing because it gives us the right to use copyrighted materials without seeking permission from the copyright owner, but it can also be a curse due to misunderstandings and misinformation regarding fair use. Making matters worse is the circulation of various sets of classroom “guidelines” – on university and library websites – that have never been part of copyright legislation and are therefore, not legally binding. In fact, most classroom copyright guidelines are much too restrictive and, if followed to the letter, can erode and impair the educational mission of the University.
