Fair Use

Katie Iverson
Western Oregon University

Copyright law serves a very important service; it protects creators original

work. While it is important to provide that protection, it does not always promote
creativity and collaboration. That is where fair use comes into play. Fair use is
flexible and does allow limited use of copyright materials, but how those materials
can be used has not always been clearly defined. From Reclaiming Fair Use by
Aufderheide and Jaszi, there were three themes that stood out. First there has been
on ongoing battle between copyright and copyleft where both sides have been
villainizied, second there has been a great deal of misunderstandings and third
ultimately what is needed is a balance between copyright and free use.
Any author has the right to be paid for the work that they create, but with
there are situations where that work could be shared or built upon that would
benefit the author and the public. This became more complicated with the rise of
the digital age. It became so easy to share information that some people felt like
everything should be shared freely. Activists fighting against copyright laws (called
copyleftists) thought that it was greedy for people to hold copyrights and expect to
be paid for their work. On the other side (the copyrightists) thought that anyone
that wanted all work to be available for free was a criminal stealing from them.
Although it seemed like a lose-lose situation with both sides being unwilling to yield,
it did in up resulting in fair use policy. Fair use does not mean free use of
everything, but it does provide opportunities for using copyright materials while still
protecting the authors rights. Fair use of copyrighted materials has caused some
confusion and even fear for educators. It is only natural that teachers would pull
from copyrighted material to supplement their curriculum. Unfortunately some
teachers arent sure what can be used or how it can be used, so they either dont
use it or they keep quiet about what they are using. This limits student learning and
collaboration between teachers. Fair use is not clearly defined in copyright law, so
more was needed to help guide people. Codes of best practice in fair use have
been created to provide different groups with guidelines for using copyrighted
material. Fair use is still flexible, but these codes of best practice do give users
more clarity in what fair use means. They help find balance between copyright and
free use and that provides opportunities for more creative freedom.
The code of best practices in fair use for media literacy was developed in
2008 and opened up opportunities for teachers to use copyrighted material in their
classrooms. In my experience teachers now feel confident, sometimes even
entitled to, using copyright material. Even though the code of best practices is a
guide, fair use is part of copyright law. It is reassuring to know that materials being
used for the classroom can be protected. In my school district there isnt anyone
checking to make sure what I use is fair use. In fact no one has ever talked to me
about copyright laws or fair use. My biggest surprise this week was to learn that
once the work has been created it is protected by copyright law. Previously I was
under the impression that you had to have a copyright license for that protection.
This changes the way I think about the materials that I use in my classroom
because I do use a lot of material that is copyrighted. The wonderful thing about
everything being digital is that information or ideas for lesson plans are readily

available and shared online. As a new teacher, it is so helpful to have access to

those resources and to collaborate with other teachers. Teachers should be working
together instead of creating lesson plans and building curriculum in isolation. If I
can collaborate with other teachers, Im not always starting from scratch so I can
use ideas that have been successful or I can build on them so that they fit the needs
of my students. Ultimately the students will benefit.
It is important to remember that it is not about just using media to enhance
our curriculum; it is about teaching media literacy. As teachers it is our job to
educate our students on copyright and fair use so that they can feel confident using
copyrighted materials. In looking over the student NETS, I think this is connected to
standard two (communication and collaboration) and standard five (digital
citizenship). Students need to learn how to collaborate with others and publish
digital work. They are consuming and creating digital media outside of class. My
students love watching YouTube videos and making their own videos. So we should
be teaching them how to do so in a legal and ethical way. In the teacher NETS this
is connected to standard four (promote and model digital citizenship and
responsibility). We are setting an example by modeling fair use as we teach media
literacy. If they see us acting as digital citizens, modeling appropriate behavior, and
we give them authentic opportunities to use create and publish in fair use, they can
build the skills necessary to become active digital citizens.