[ale] Fair Use question

[Robert Reese]

Hi Dave,

Sunday, October 9, 2022, 2:19:19 PM, you wrote:

> I'm taking a class at church that is using a $15 textbook.  There's also a
> $15 workbook that the teacher is making xerox copies of the required pages
> for each lesson for our classroom discussion.  I bought another copy from
> the publishers that gives a copy of the text, workbook, and a year's online
> access to both and also to educational movies for each lesson.

> 1. Is it Fair Use to the teacher to make xerox copies of the workbook each
> week?

No, it is not. That is piracy. Theft.


> 2. Is it Fair Use for me to make weekly PDFs of the online content if only
> for my own use?  How about for sharing with other class members?

Yes, that is fair use.  Copyright protects from economic loss, such as selling it or, as in the case of your teacher, failing to compensate the author/publisher for COPIES. That is, the teacher does NOT have a right to distribute copies, even if they are free.


> 3. Is it Fair Use for me to make copies of the movies for a year?  What
> about keeping copies beyond the year?

Yes, though it does go against the TOS.  OTOH, I've been burned by screw-ups, lack of internet access/service, sites going dark, etc.  And no one is going to hassle you for it as long as you don't distribute them.  And yeah, you're supposed to delete them after the year is up since you don't own the rights to the contents; you have only leased them.


> Okay, this is really small potatoes here I know, but basically the teacher
> called me a criminal, I thought she was wrong, and after a little googling,
> now I'm not sure.  So are any of us in this class breaking the Fair Use
> clause in this class?

Wait, the criminal here is calling you a criminal?  I don't know if your church is Judeo/Christian, but if it is then your teacher might want to review the contents of a couple of stone tablets brought down by Moses as, if memory serves, one of the bullet points covers theft.  But regardless, the irony is not missed. 

Cheers,
Robert~