Library: Copyright Policies and Guidelines: FAQ

Have a copyright question?

Jane Lewandoski

Email Me

Contact:

Phone (810) 989-5640
Text (810) 515-7343
library@sc4.edu

The easiest way to know if a material is subject to copyright protection is to look for the copyright notice: © However, works do not require a notice to be under copyright protection – all original works are protected by copyright when created, even if the creator/author does not register the work.
The Copyright Genie can assist you in determining a work’s copyright and terms of protection.
Circular 22 from the U.S. Copyright Office offers tips on how to determine if a work is copyrighted.
- Creative Commons licenses are also subject to copyright protection but are more easily shared.
- Some copyright holders have already granted use of their works through Creative Commons licenses.

Search the Copyright Office’s Catalog.
The Library of Congress is another good resource for checking copyright ownership, as Circular 23 from the U.S. Copyright Office indicates.

If Fair Use can be successfully applied, limited portions of copyrighted material can be used for educational purposes, according to the U.S. Copyright Office.
You may also ask for permission to use a copyrighted work. A good place to start is the Copyright Clearance Center.
Works with Creative Commons licenses may be used in accordance with their license type.
Review the Exceptions for Instructors in U.S. Copyright Law.

Generally, works in the public domain do not have active copyright protection.
- Works published before 1923 are no longer under copyright protection in the United States.
- Government documents are also in the public domain.
- See the Public Domain tab or our Public Domain Research Guide.
“Open licensing does not replace copyright. Open licenses work with copyright to promote shared use.” (Open Licenses (2021). In Community College Consortium for OER, https://www.cccoer.org/learn/open-licensing, “Open Licenses”)
- Creative Commons licenses are good examples of open licenses.
Under the Fair Use Doctrine, small portions of copyrighted works may be used without permission for teaching or research purposes as well as for news information or reporting, criticism, or comment:
- The four factors of Fair Use should be applied to determine if the use of a copyrighted work would be considered fair.
- Citations must still be used.
The TEACH Act allows the educational use of copyrighted material in distance learning, with some limitations.