Fair Use for Instructional Designers

The concept of fair use of copyrighted material in educational institutions for teaching purposes is not new. However, the development of corporate, in-house instructional design has taken off. There are some issues about copyright that affect this type of training.

Educational institutions are defined as nonprofit organizations whose primary focus is supporting research and instructional activities of educators and students for noncommercial use. The fair use guidelines are designed to assist nonprofit institutions, such as accredited schools and research. The corporate environment classifies as neither nonprofit nor noncommercial.

To avoid any legal issues it is wise to stick to using material that is privately developed and clearly labeled as copyright free. Searching your topic on the Internet can lead you to sites that offer copyright free material for instruction.

Additional resources are found in material that is not eligible for copyright protection or considered in the public domain. Work in which the copyright has expired or become ineffective is in the public domain.

Work not eligible for copyright includes:
• Material completely produced by the United States Government.
• Works that are NOT fixed in a tangible form of expression. For example: choreographic works that are not notated or recorded, or improvisational speeches or performances that are not written or recorded.
• Titles, names, short phrases, and slogans, familiar symbols, or designs, mere variations of typographic ornamentation, lettering, or coloring mere listings of ingredients or contents.
• Ideas, procedures, methods, systems, processes, concepts, principles, discoveries, or devices, as distinguished from a description, explanation, or illustration.
• Works consisting ENTIRELY of information that is common property and containing no original authorship. For example: standard calendars, height and weight charts, tape measures and rulers, and lists or tables taken from public documents or other common sources.

For more information about the role of copyright in instructional design, visit the United States Copyright Office http://lcweb.loc.gov/copyright.