Copyright, Fair Use and Electronic Reserves for Faculty

Copyright is applicable to reserved materials.  Compliance is the responsibility of the faculty member.  Materials obtained through interlibrary loan cannot be placed on reserve.

U.S. copyright law's fair use exemption (section 107) allows the use of copyrighted materials without obtaining permission.  There is a four-factor analysis that must be applied to each use to determine if fair use applies:

• Purpose of Use
• Nature of the Copyrighted Material
• Amount Copied
• Effect on the Market for Original

For more information on fair use as it relates to reserve materials, please see:

• the Fair Use Checklist at the Cornell University Copyright Information Center.