Copyright Topic Guide: Exemptions

• Work is a fact or an idea
• Public Domain (Intellectual Property is not owned or controlled by any entity). Examples: Government documents or Orphan Works.
• Fair Use
• TEACH Act

• Play legal movies and music for their students, at any length.
• Display images or original artworks.
• Students can perform arias, read poems, and act out scenes.

Students and instructors can do all these things without seeking permission, without giving anyone payment, and without having to deal with the complications of fair use.

Copyright law places a high value on educational uses. The Classroom Use Exemption (17 U.S.C. §110(1)) only applies in very limited situations, but where it does apply, it gives some pretty clear rights.

To qualify for this exemption, you must be:

• Present in a classroom (or similar place devoted to instruction).
• Professionally engaged in face-to-face teaching activities.
• Working at a nonprofit educational institution.

As long as the stipulations listed above are adhered to, the exemption will allow instructors and students to perform or display ANY works.