Disclaimer: This document is NOT intended in any way to be a definitive authority on the complex issue of copyright law and fair use in education. However, it is based on policies that have been adopted by colleges and universities across the country and represents what is generally viewed as a safe, ethical approach to dealing with copyright and intellectual property rights.

What is copyright?
Copyright is the right, given to the creator of a work of intellectual property (music, dance, literature, visual art, and other types of intellectual property) to control the duplication and/or distribution of that work. 

How do I know if something is copyrighted? 
Copyright exists from the moment a work is created and belongs to the creator of that work. No registration is required. Legally, once a work is in fixed form (written music or audio recording) the copyright is considered valid. So, bottom line, unless YOU created it or you know that it is absolutely in the public domain, assume that the creator of a work owns the copyright, whether or not a copyright notice appears on the work.

What is “fair use”? 
Fair Use is a part of the copyright law that allows limited copying, without permission, for certain specific applications including criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. 

The following four factors, taken together, determine what constitutes fair use. The first three factors are usually important in determining the fourth.

1. the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. the nature of the copyrighted work
3. the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
4. the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work

What is “public domain”? 
Although the rules for public domain can be complicated (see Copyright Resources at end), generally, a work is considered to be in the public domain if the copyright has expired (70 years after the death of the author) or if the work is designated as public domain by its creator. Generally, all US publications before 1923 are in the public domain. Public domain works may be duplicated freely without need for permissions.

What you CAN’T do:
The following are expressly prohibited when dealing with copyrighted works:

• Copying material to avoid purchase
• Copying music for any kind of performance (note emergency exception below)
• Copying without including copyright notice
• Copying to create anthologies or compilations
• Reproducing material designed to be consumable such as workbooks, standardized tests, and answer sheets
• Charging students beyond the actual cost involved in making copies as permitted

What you CAN do:

Here are things you can do with copyrighted works without having secured prior permission:

• Emergency copying to replace purchased copies which, for any reason, are not available for an imminent performance provided purchased replacement copies shall be substituted in due course
• For academic purposes other than performance, multiple copies of excerpts of works may be made provided that the excerpts do not comprise a part of the whole which would constitute a performable unit such as a section, movement, or aria but in no case more than 10% of the whole work. The number of copies shall not exceed one copy per pupil.
  
• Printed copies which have been purchased may be edited OR simplified provided that the fundamental character of the work is not distorted or the lyrics, if any, altered or lyrics added if none exist.
  
• A single copy of recordings of performance by students may be made for evaluation or rehearsal purposes and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher.
• A single copy of a sound recording (such as a tape, disc or cassette) of copyrighted music may be made from sound recordings owned by an educational institution or an individual teacher for the purpose of constructing aural exercises or examinations and may be retained by the educational institution or individual teacher. (This pertains only to the copyright of the music itself and not to any copyright which may exist in the sound recording.)

General Guideline – if in doubt, DO NOT COPY!

Frequently asked questions about copying music:

Q - Can I make a copy of a song for my accompanist to play from? After all, I did buy the book.

A - Not legally. You have purchased the right to use a single copy of your music. Purchasing the book does NOT grant you the right to duplicate it, not even “just once”. Most music schools around the country are in agreement that compliance with the law requires accompanists to play from original scores, not copies in three ring binders. This IS something the copyright police will check for if they visit a music school.

Q – Doesn’t Fair Use mean I can copy whatever I want if it’s for a class? 

A – No. There are fairly strict guidelines for appropriate application of the Fair Use doctrine. In general, the less you use of a work, the more likely it is to be approved under the Fair Use doctrine. Hence, you cannot copy entire movements or large sections, but excerpts (a few bars or a page or two from an orchestral score are typical acceptable examples) are allowed.

Q – Can I burn a CD or copy an MP3 of a single song for a student to learn a new piece?

A – Not legally. Audio recordings cannot be duplicated and distributed for ANY reason without permission, even for classroom use. Audio recordings are MUCH more tightly policed than printed music copyright violations and have been prosecuted actively by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), particularly at colleges and universities.

Q – I want to use a work, but can’t get in touch with the copyright holder, or they aren’t responding to me. May I still copy it?

A – No. Just because you cannot contact someone does not grant you permission to copy their copyrighted work.

Q – I need to get more copies of something that is out of print. May I copy it?

A – Yes, but you MUST obtain permission from the publisher FIRST to be covered legally. Most publishing companies are very willing to grant permission in these cases, BUT YOU HAVE TO ASK FIRST. For your own protection, always keep a record of any permission granted. Do not copy without written permission!

Copyright Resources