Copyright for Reserves

UNO library supports classroom teaching in compliance with copyright law. While there are few restrictions when placing physical materials on reserve, there are restrictions for materials uploaded to Canvas. When PDFs are uploaded to Canvas, you are making and distributing new copies of a work, and the copyright implications of using that material must be considered.

Worry-free Materials

Some items have very few copyright concerns and can be uploaded to Canvas worry-free:

- Materials available via UNO library databases.
- Materials that have expired copyright and are now in the public domain.
- Open access content such as material distributed under Creative Commons licenses, OER materials, or Open Access materials.
- Federal Government documents.

Other Materials

Materials that fall outside of the categories outlined above are governed by Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act of 1976, which sets out the provisions of fair use. When considering whether to upload material to your Canvas course site, the following four factors should be applied to determine whether the use of the work is "fair use":

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

UNO Library considers these fair use provisions when supplying scans of books and journal articles that are requested via our Scan on Demand service.

If you have further questions about copyright for reserves or fair use, please contact our librarians at libref@uno.edu.