Copyright Exceptions: Educational Use

Full Question: Is there a blanket exemption for educational uses or uses by educational institutions?

Answer: There is no blanket exemption from copyright liability for educational uses or uses by educational institutions. Although many activities associated with teaching, scholarship and research, often qualify as fair use, none of them automatically qualifies as a fair use. Whether a particular act falls within the scope of the copyright law’s fair use exception is determined on a case-by-case basis by applying the four statutory factors. In addition, to fair use there are other exceptions in the copyright law that may be applicable to acts undertaken by educational institutions. For example, the copyright law includes limited exemptions for certain uses of copyrighted materials in “face-to-face” classroom situations.