To determine if you must obtain copyright permissions for the reproduction, distribution, performance or display of a copyrighted work for teaching, please complete a Fair Use Analysis Worksheet and submit this to the OER along with the item(s) to be copied.
Copyright is the property of the publisher of the journal or textbook in which material is published. An author therefore cannot grant copyright permission. You should therefore determine if you could copy the article/textbook section using the Fair Use Analysis Worksheet.
If after completing the Fair Use Analysis Worksheet you determine that you must obtain copyright permissions to distribute materials in your syllabus or as a handout to your students, please complete a Copyright Request Form and submit it to the OER along with the materials to be copied. The OER will either contact the publisher of the items on the form to obtain free copyright permissions or request copyright permission from the Copyright Clearance Center. If required, the copyright permissions will be paid for by the OER.
As a general guideline, you should plan to complete all copyright requests at least one month prior to the completion of your syllabus. However, as soon as you determine that you will be using copyrighted material for your course, you should complete a Fair Use Analysis Worksheet. If copyright permission is required, you can submit the Copyright Request Form at that time. This will allow OER staff to try to obtain copyright permission directly from the publisher at no cost and in a timely manner.
OER staff will maintain a file of your copyright permission requests, approvals and completed Fair Use Analysis Worksheet to facilitate the copying of your handouts when you are ready to copy these materials. If you would like to maintain personal copies of these forms, please be sure to ask the OER staff to forward them to your attention.
The issue of copyright permission must be revisited each year. Generally, publishers do not grant copyright permission for more than one year at a time, unless you specifically request this. The Copyright Clearance Center will not grant permission for more than one year at a time.
OER staff will gladly try to find the answers to your specific copyright permissions questions. However, if you would feel more comfortable talking to the Miner Library Reference Desk staff regarding this topic, please call 275-2487 or send e-mail to miner_information@urmc.rochester.edu.
If you are looking for more general information on copyright permissions, the University of Rochester has created the UR Copyright Page to try to answer questions on copyright permissions and fair use.