Carrie on Coyright- Is it a Crime to Copy?

Thanks to readers' avid interest in copyright issues, this month marks the full-page debut of 'Carrie on Copyright.' The expanded column will enable me to answer more of your questions each month. To reach me with copyright questions, send an e-mail message to prx-slj@reedbusiness.com, indicating 'copyright' in the subject line.

I would like to scan the covers of attractive books, print the scans, and use the resulting posters to publicize new and seasonal books, and 'good reads.' For example, the cover design of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Scholastic/Arthur Levine, 1 999) is protected by copyright, but if I have purchased the book for the library, is it OK to announce its availability by posting an image of the book in my display area?
Holly Wolf Librarian, Palmyra-Macedon High School, Palmyra, NY

Let's assume that the book covers in question are copyrighted and the publisher holds the copyright to the cover designs. We know that reproducing copyrighted material, such as book covers, and publicly displaying those copies without the consent of the copyright holder are infringements of copyright. But, do we have to ask permission to promote reading in the library? I don't think so, at least, not yet. Since the ultimate purpose of the copyright law is to 'advance the progress of science and useful arts' in order to benefit the public, the law carves out numerous exceptions to ensure that copyright holders never have complete control over their works.

One of the major exceptions to the copyright holder's exclusive rights is 'fair use.' Fair use is the right to use works in a reasonable manner without the prior consent of the copyright holder. There is no black-and-white formula for determining fair use. Instead, librarians must use solid professional judgment. When making a decision, it is helpful to consider the four factors of fair use that are outlined in the copyright law. Those factors are: (1) purpose of the use; (2) nature of the material; (3) amount of the material; and (4) effect on the market for the work.

In this situation, the librarian wants to use the copyrighted material for nonprofit, educational purposes. She has lawfully acquired the Harry Potter book and is promoting it to readers and potential Harry Potter fans. The effect on the market is a positive one. Nonetheless, the situation is complicated because the work is highly creative in nature-book covers can be works of arts in themselves and creative materials are considered more copyright-worthy-and the entire cover is being used. But I would argue that the display of book cover copies is lawful. In addition, the law is in part understood within the context of actual custom. If the posting of book covers in libraries for promotional purposes is commonplace and is consistently practiced by libraries across the country, the practice in effect influences how the law is interpreted. Since courts base copyright infringement decisions on 'the facts of the case,' consistent practices like book cover displays become understood as more reasonable.

Our library system wants to add a link to our children's Web page for 'Librarian's Picks.' We'd like to add a picture of the book from a source such as Title Source II or Amazon.com. Can we copy the book covers and drag them to our Web site or would we be violating copyright law?
Julie Schaefer Librarian, Dearborn (MI) Public Library

Once again, the book covers will be copied, publicly displayed, and published on the library's Web site. In other words, rights of copyright will have been used without permission. But is this unauthorized use of book covers a fair use? I would argue that even though the digital book cover copy is 'ripped' from another Web site, the use is fair. My response would be completely different if the library was using the book covers to generate profits, or if the book covers were made into posters to be sold at a library fund-raiser. Here again, we recognize that the library is merely trying to promote reading of lawfully acquired library books. The copyright holder's ability to market the work has not been harmed- and, indeed, may have been helped.