The copyright law of the United States (Title 17, U.S. Code Section 101, et seq.) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the “fair use” provision of copyright law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish users a photocopy or reproduction. The photocopy or reproduction may be used “for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship or research,” but not for commercial purposes (17 U.S. Code Section 107).
If a user makes a request for, and later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of “fair use,” that user may be liable for copyright infringement. The Ethnic Studies Library reserves the right to refuse to accept a reproduction order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.
It remains the user’s responsibility to determine the copyright status of any material provided by the library. Copyright has not been assigned to the Ethnic Studies Library. The library can claim only physical ownership of the material. The user must obtain the required permission from a copyright owner before using material from the collection or from the web site if the intended use of the material would exceed “fair use” limits.
The Ethnic Studies Library permits “fair use,” as described above, of documents and images from its collections and web site for private study, scholarship, teaching, criticism, news reporting, comment, or research only.
Please contact the Ethnic Studies Library regarding publication, exhibition, commercial use, or reproduction of any material from the Ethnic Studies Library's collections, in either physical or digital form.
Publication/re-publication of copyright-protected material can be a fair use if done for certain purposes (e.g. scholarship, criticism, research, teaching, etc.) and you balance four factors that speak to overall fairness.
1. The purpose and character of the use: Are you planning to use the material for non-commercial/non-profit educational uses, or within a commercial work? The fair use statute indicates that nonprofit educational purposes are generally more likely to be considered fair than commercial uses. Often the most important consideration for thinking about this first factor is: Will your use of the material be considered "transformative," such that you are not merely reproducing them but rather adding something new or original (new insights or understandings)? The more your project has to say about the material or image -- that is, really working with it rather than just including it because it’s merely illustrative -- the more likely it is that you’re adding new insights or understandings which were not the original author’s intention in creating the work. (In other words, the more likely it is that you’ve transformed it from its original purpose.)
2. The nature of the copyrighted work: Has the material that you hope to use been previously published? Is it more factual (e.g. quoting from a biography) than creative (e.g. a portion of a poem)? The use of previously published and/or nonfiction is more likely to weigh in favor of fair use than use of unpublished and/or fictional work. (In part, this is due to recognition of authors as having the right to determine when their material is first published.)
3. The amount and significance of the portion used in relation to the entire work: Generally speaking, by using less of the original work, your use is more likely to be considered fair, but it is also important to consider whether what you are using is the “heart” of the original work (even if only a small amount). There is no set percentage of a work that automatically renders a use fair, or that automatically rules out a finding of fair use. Instead, best practices for falling within fair use mean reproducing an amount limited to what is necessary and appropriate for why you are using it.
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work: This factor asks that one consider whether the use serves as a substitute for purchasing or licensing the original. If the use harms or would likely harm the current market for the original work (for example, by displacing sales of the original), then the use is less likely to be fair.
Evaluating the four factors is always a balancing test. Some factors may weigh against fair use while others weigh in favor. Unfortunately, there's no simple formula to apply and you will need to consider all four of the factors before making a decision.
Evaluating the four factors is always a balancing test. Some factors may weigh against fair use while other weigh in favor. Unfortunately, there's no simple formula to apply and you will need to consider all four factors before making a decision.
All written materials in the California Indian Library Collections have been made available for educational and research purposes only. In addition to any restrictions on use which may appear on specific texts, the following restrictions apply to all items:
Field notes included in the California Indian Library Collections (CILC) have been reproduced with the permission of the University Archivist at the University of California, Berkeley. The Field notes have been made available only for educational and research purposes and may not be used for commercial purposes whatsoever.
The library requests the following attribution, or you may reformat the following information in accordance with discipline-specific standards:
[Identification of the item], [California Indian Library Collection (CILC)], [Call number of collection], Ethnic Studies Library, University of California, Berkeley.
Additionally, if you require a reproduction of the materials from the collection of the Ethnic Studies Library please email:
Melissa Stoner
melissa.s.stoner@berkeley.edu
Native American Studies Librarian