Can I photocopy copyrighted materials and include them in coursepacks for my students?
A portion of copyright law, “fair use,” does authorize teachers to photocopy and use copyrighted works for educational purposes without paying royalties to the author or securing permission. For one-time distribution in class to students, a teacher may make, or have made multiple copies if he or she: • makes no more than one for each student in a course; • does not make copies for students who are not in his or her own classes; • includes the notice of copyright by writing it on the first sheet or copying the page on which it appears; • is selective and sparing in choosing poetry, prose, and illustrations; • does not use copies to create or substitute for anthologies or collective works; • copies pursuant to their own initiative, and not according to the plan of a supervisor or administrator; • makes no charge to students beyond the actual cost of photocopying. Limit coursepack materials to: single chapters, single articles from a journal, several charts, graphs or illustrations, or ot
