Course Reserves

Falvey Library regularly assists faculty members in placing print copies of copyrighted materials on reserve in the library and placing electronic copies of copyrighted documents on reserve on the instructor's Blackboard course.

The use of electronic reserves material, as with all reserves, is governed by the provisions of fair use of the United States Copyright Act of 1976. Section 107 of the Copyright Act expressly permits the making of multiple copies for classroom use. In determining fair use there are four factors:

  • Purpose: the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit education purposes
  • Nature: the nature of the copyrighted work (original or derivative)
  • Amount: the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
  • Effect: the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

Based on the fair use criteria above, library staff will determine if limited portions of an individual work can be scanned or copied for course reserves. Faculty are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for materials that exceed fair use.

Interlibrary Loans & Document Delivery

In addition to copyright issues related to library reserve items, there may also be copyright compliance issues pertinent to copying or digital conversion of materials in the collection for research or instructional purposes.

Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of these specified conditions is that the photocopy or other reproduction is not to be 'used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.' If a user makes a request for, or later uses, a photocopy or reproduction for purposes in excess of 'fair use,' that user may be liable for copyright infringement.

This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copying order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

For copyright questions pertaining to Interlibrary Loan, please contact Emma Poley at 610-519-4274. For copyright questions about Course Reserves, please contact Luisa Cywinski at 610-519-5215.

DVDs and Streaming Video

DVDs and streaming video content are protected by copyright regulations according to the U.S. Copyright Law. Unless clearly noted on the DVD and in the catalog record, the Library does not own public performance rights.

The use of DVDs and streaming video content is limited to "home use only.” The only exception is the “face-to-face teaching exemption.”

This exemption allows for the “performance or display of a work by instructors or pupils in the course of face-to-face teaching activities of a nonprofit educational institution, in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction, unless, in the case of a motion picture or other audiovisual work, the performance, or the display of individual images, is given by means of a copy that was not lawfully made under this title, and that the person responsible for the performance knew or had reason to believe was not lawfully made.” [Title 17, U.S.C., Copyrights, Section 110 (1), Limitations on exclusive rights: Exemption of certain performances and displays]

According to the American Library Association, the “face-to-face teaching exemption” only applies when all the following conditions are met:

  1. The performance must be by instructors or by pupils.
  2. The performance is in connection with face-to-face teaching activities.
  3. The entire audience is involved in the teaching activity.
  4. The entire audience is in the same room or same general area.
  5. The teaching activities are conducted by a non-profit education institution.
  6. The performance takes place in a classroom or similar place devoted to instruction.
  7. The person responsible for the performance has no reason to believe that the videotape was unlawfully made.
    See: ALA Library Fact Sheet Number 7

 
All other screenings of DVDs and streaming video content require explicit permission from the copyright owner for “public performance” rights. The library catalog record and the DVDs identify whether the Library owns the public performance rights. Look for the following note: “On-Campus Public Performance Rights Secured.”

Advice provided by the library in these areas is limited to questions of policy and does not constitute legal advice. The library defers to the Villanova University copyright policy, which can be found by clicking on the first link listed below.

Updated 6/20/2017

Selected Copyright Resources

Villanova University Policies & Guidelines

- Copyright Policies (Office of the Vice President & General Counsel)
- Copyright Infringement and Illegal File Sharing (UNIT)