Carrie on Copyright

Carrie Russell, the American Library Association's copyright specialist, will answer selected questions from readers. Send questions to prx-slj@reedbusiness.com, with 'copyright' in the subject line. Note: Carrie's comments are not to be considered legal advice.

I have this recurring problem. As the person in charge of our production room, I have instructed our library media staff not to make copies of workbook lessons for teachers who request them. My understanding is that fair use does not apply to workbooks. But many teachers end up getting angry with us because they say they don't have enough instructional materials for their classrooms. Just exactly how does the copyright law apply to workbooks? Sammy Staudinger Library Media Specialist Pound Middle School, Lincoln, NE

In general, fair use does not apply to 'consumable' materials, such as workbooks. To determine if a use is a fair use, one must consider four factors: (1) the purpose of the use; (2) the nature of the publication; (3) the amount of the work being used; and (4) the effect on the market for the work. Even though this particular use is for nonprofit educational purposes (a factor weighing in favor of fair use), the other three factors tend to work against a fair-use analysis. Here's why. Factor two: each student uses a workbook or other instructional materials to complete assignments, tests, and homework exercises. Generally, students actually complete their work by writing in the workbook. But once a student uses the workbook, it has been 'used up.' The nature of the publication is, therefore, consumable. Factor three: reproduction of an entire work, in almost all cases, is not considered a fair use. And, finally, factor four: if one workbook has been purchased and then copied for all of the students, the workbook's market would be seriously harmed. Having said that, there may be instances when reproducing a 'portion' of a workbook could arguably be a fair use, but one should not photocopy a 'lesson here and an exercise there' in order to avoid purchasing the workbook itself.