Copyright and Fair Use

It is the policy of Otis College of Art and Design to follow the United States Copyright Law of 1976, as amended, (Title 17, United States Code, hereinafter, the Copyright Act, which includes the provisions of the TEACH Act). Accordingly, all faculty, staff and students of Otis should follow these policy guidelines:

1. Only copyrighted materials are subject to the restrictions in this Policy Statement. Uncopyrighted materials may be copied freely and without restriction.
2. Copyrighted software may be copied without the copyright owner's permission only in accordance with the Copyright Act. Section 117 of the Act permits making an archival back-up copy. Most software, however, is licensed to the user and the terms of the license agreement may give the user permission to make copies of the software in excess of the archival copy permitted by the Copyright Act. Each software license agreement is unique. As a result, the user's rights to copy licensed software beyond that permitted under the Copyright Act may only be determined by reading the user's license agreement. Any copying or reproduction of copyrighted software on University computing equipment must be in accordance with the Copyright Act and the pertinent software license agreement. Further, faculty, staff and students may not use unauthorized copies of software on University-owned computers or networks or computers housed in University facilities.
3. Copyrighted materials may be copied or otherwise used without the copyright owner's permission where such copying constitutes "fair use" under the Copyright Act. The The four factor test of fair use is as follows and each factor must be considered: What is the character of use, e.g. educational, nonprofit, etc.? What is the nature of the work to be used, e.g. facts that are published vs. imaginative work that is unpublished? How much of the work is to be used? If this kind of use were widespread, what effect would it have on the market of the original
4. In order to copy or otherwise use materials, including software, where (a) the materials are copyrighted, (b) use exceeds what is permitted by license, and (c) the four factor fair use test indicates that the use is likely not fair, permission should be obtained from the copyright owner.
5. Otis will determine the appropriate methods to provide notice to faculty, staff and students regarding this Copyright Policy and compliance to the Policy and related laws. Faculty should notify their students, in their course syllabus or otherwise, that materials used in connection with the course may be subject to copyright protection.