Fair Use Checklist For Intellectual Property Fair Use Checklist For Intellectual Property

Published By Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center

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Charts and Tools

Is it Still in Copyright?

University of California. Samuelson Law, Technology and Policy Clinic. Flow chart and Handbook:
Is it in the Public Domain?
Copyright Term and the Public Domain in the United States by Peter Hirtle
Stanford’s Copyright Renewal Database Check to see if select works (publ. 1923-1963) were renewed.
Digital Copyright Slider by Michael Brewer, American Library Association Office for Information Technology Policy – Copyright Advisory Committee

Digital Images

Digital Image Rights Computator Assess the intellectual property status of a specific image.

Library and Archive Exception

Fair Use

Fair Use Evaluator – by Michael Brewer & ALA Office for Information Technology Policy
Checklist for Fair Use Copyright Advisory Office, Columbia University Libraries/Information Services
The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is pleased to announce the release of Fair Use Challenges in Academic and Research Libraries, a report that summarizes research into the current application of fair use and other copyright exemptions to meet the missions of U.S. academic and research libraries.

Do I have Permission to Use a Work? How can I Give Permission?

Search for creative commons works or create a Creative Commons license for your own work.

Copyright Law Fundamentals Flowchart

Copyright Navigator A Digital Annotated Concept Map of the Fundamentals of U.S. Copyright Law by Lionel S. Sobel, Professor, Southwestern University School of Law
Editor, Entertainment Law Reporter

Codes of Best Practices

Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Academic and Research Libraries (The Association of Research Libraries (ARL))
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education by The Center for Media & Social Impact at American University, The Media Education Lab at Temple University, and The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, Washington College of Law, American University.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video by The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, Washington College of Law and The Center for Media & Social Impact at American University.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Scholarly Research in Communication created by The International Communication Association, funded by the International Communication Association and the Ford Foundation, through the Center for Social Media’s Future of Public Media.
Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use of Dance-related Materials produced by the Dance Heritage Coalition, clarifies what librarians, archivists, curators, and others working with dance-related materials currently regard as a reasonable application of the Copyright Act’s fair use doctrine, where the use of copyrighted materials is essential to significant cultural missions and institutional goals.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use in Teaching for Film and Media Educators is a code of best practices in fair use in teaching for film/media educators. It deals with classroom screenings, broadcasts, and derivative works.
Society for Cinema and Media Studies’ Statement of Fair Use Best Practices for Media Studies Publishing is a code of best practices in scholarly publishing, created by the Society for Cinema and Media Studies to serve scholars in film and media studies.
Society of American Archivists. Orphan Works: Statement of Best Practices – help in determining effort levels and tools in identifying and locating creators and owners of orphaned works.
This page includes the Documentary Filmmakers’ Statement of Best Practices in Fair Use, a handbook written by veteran filmmakers to help other filmmakers understand some instances where using copyrighted material without clearance is considered fair use, and more information such as classroom tools and videos about fair use.
Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for OpenCourseware by the Center for Social Media and The Program on Information Justice and Intellectual Property, Washington College of Law, both at American University.

Copyright Tutorials

Copyright for Librarians A free online tutorial developed by the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School and Electronic Information for Libraries (eIFL).
Introduction to Copyright Law A free, online course from MIT’s OpenCourseWare. Electrical Engineering & Computer Science course, with specifics on copyright applying to music and audiovisual content. Reading list, syllabus and 4 video lectures.
University of Texas “Copyright Crash Course”, with sections on multimedia creation, digital libraries and copyright, copyright management, licensing and online presentations.
Columbia University Correcting Course: Rebalancing Copyright Columbia University in the City of New York and the Office of Information Technology Policy (OITP) of the American Library Association present Correcting Course: Rebalancing Copyright for Libraries in the National and International Arenas. Correcting Course offers a high-level briefing on developments in the United States and in international venues affecting the balanced interpretation and application of copyright. It promotes a renewed activism in support of fair use and the full complement of copyright exceptions and limitations which enable libraries to serve their communities.
Denison University – Copyright in 90 Seconds This site is designed for instructional purposes and offers a variety of methods by which you can educate yourself about copyright law. The information contained on this site is not meant as legal advice. The content was prepared to inform those in the academic community about copyright. If you are seeking legal or expert assistance, please seek the services of a competent legal professional.

Avatars by Sterling Adventures

Secondary Content

What's Next for Fair Use After Google v. Oracle?
Panelists Tom Goldstein and Professors Peter Menell, Pamela Samuelson and Sean O'Connor discuss the implications of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision, Google v. Oracle, and how it may affect other cases where fair use and copyright are in play.
Presented by the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology