Author(s): Pamela Samuelson and Jason Schultz
Year: 2013
Abstract:
For
centuries, scholars and educators have excerpted the works of their
colleagues, transforming them from individual, static monographs into
dynamic pedagogical and intellectual tools for classroom learning. Such
transformations reside at the heart of fair use, a core copyright law
doctrine established to protect socially beneficial uses of works that
increase public access and promote the progress of human understanding.
In
this case, Plaintiff Publishers accuse GSU and its faculty of violating
their copyrights through this practice. But, as the district court
correctly found, such uses are fair, especially because they primarily
use factual information to promote the purposes of education and
teaching, the amount taken was reasonable in light of its purpose, and
because Plaintiffs’ evidence of a cognizable copyright market harm was
speculative at best. However, the district court erred when it
incorrectly concluded that these uses are not transformative. Using an
unduly narrow definition of the concept, it failed to consider how
educators repurpose scholarly works in productive ways that bring new
meaning to and understanding of the works used.
As scholars and
educators who produce and repurpose such works, amici urge this Court to
affirm that these uses constitute a transformative use under the first
fair use factor, and to reaffirm the findings under the other factors
that these uses are fair. A finding of fair use in this case not only
furthers the underlying goals of scholarship and education – access to
knowledge – but also the very purposes of the Copyright Act itself.
Keywords: copyright, fair use, educational fair use, academic authors
Link: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2259697