Copyright and Electronic Class Reserve

Copyright Guidelines

The USC Wilson Dental Library policy for Electronic Reserve is based on the "fair use" provision of the Copyright Act of 1976, Section 107 which permits the making of copies from copyrighted material for classroom use as long as the four determining fair use factors are considered. Factors which must be considered in determining whether "fair use" applies include: the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; the nature of the copyrighted work; the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The Wilson Dental Library complies with these guidelines for photocopied material established by copyright law and as interpreted by the University Council. The Access Services Office will place material requested by USC faculty on Electronic Reserve under the following conditions:

• A print version of any copyrighted materials to be scanned for Electronic Reserve has been lawfully acquired by the library, a USC faculty, department, or school.
• Copies of a periodical article or a single chapter from a book may be placed on Electronic Reserve for one semester.
• There may not be more than nine instances of multiple copying for one course during one class term unless copyright permission is obtained.
• The same material may not be used in subsequent semesters without the faculty having obtained written permission from the publisher.
• Library staff will scan the material for placement in the Electronic Reserve system. The scanned material will be available for use during the entire semester in which the course is given.
• All copyrighted material will be removed from the WDL Electronic Reserve system each semester.
• Copyrighted materials on Electronic Reserve are accessible only by faculty name or course number.
• A copyright notice will be attached to each copyrighted document in the Electronic Reserve system.

Requesting Copyright Permission

In many instances, such as course packs or multiple journal article copies, copyright law requires that permission be obtained before using copyrighted materials in college courses. If the needed copying is excess of fair use, it will be necessary to obtain permission to place the duplicated materials in either electronic or print reserves. Whether you request permission yourself or through the University Bookstore's Custom Publishing, the following suggestions will speed the process:

1. Allow plenty of time to obtain copyright permission.
2. Include complete citation information.
3. Request permission whether or not works are in print.
4. Send your request to the individual publisher's Permissions Department or the Copyright Clearance Center not to the author.
5. Provide complete address and name of contact person.