George Mason University applies the fair use factors on a case by case basis. Please see University Libraries Copyright homepage for links to Title 17, U.S. Code §107.
When deciding whether your use is a fair use or not, the following four factors should be considered:
1. The PURPOSE of your use
· Educational versus Commercial
· Mere duplication versus Transformative
2. The NATURE of the work to be copied
· Fact versus Fiction
· Published versus unpublished
3. The AMOUNT of the work you wish to use in relation to the work as a whole
· Are you excerpting the “guts” of the work?
4. The EFFECT of your use on the market for, or value of the work as a whole
· Will your use replace the purchase of the work?
· Will your use improve the market for the work or harm it?
In addition, for a use to be considered fair, a complete citation must be included on the first page of the material. Even Public Domain sources must be correctly attributed. Online sources should have a complete URL address.
When a proposed use of any copyrighted work appears to go beyond fair use limitations, the Libraries Copyright Office will seek the required clearances for educational use, and pay any applicable royalty fees. Please provide all citation information as well as URLs for linking to off-campus resources.
Procedures for using the Electronic Reserves System
These are procedures for all instructors submitting readings (one article or twenty) for digitization into University Libraries Electronic Course Reserves for student use. Please access the online submission form here
A. Author(s)/ translator/editor(s)
B. Journal title AND article title
C. Exact page numbers needed
D. Publisher name (division etc whenever applicable)
E. Most recent date of publication
F. Journals - include volume & number.
G. Library staff will verify citations based on information provided, and find missing information, if possible.
H. Any written permission letters you have received from colleagues/authors, or any other preauthorization to use copyrighted materials, such as student authorization forms.
I. For WWW sources, provide complete URL, for linking purposes.
After you have submitted the online form, place all readings in a pocket folder or envelope and deliver to the Circulation Desk at Johnson Center in Fairfax, at Mercy Library in PW, and Arlington Campus Library in Arlington.
A. Please provide good copies with no black edges.
B. Each photocopied article/book chapter should be paper clipped
C. A copy of the copyright and title pages of each book from which you have taken an excerpt will help us to identify the rights holder for the publisher.
Please be aware that many BOOK publishers are not yet granting permissions for digitizing any part of any of their titles.