As an institution devoted to the creation, discovery, and dissemination of knowledge to serve society, Syracuse University is committed to complying with all applicable laws regarding intellectual property. Within its mission of teaching, learning, and research, Syracuse University adheres to U.S. Copyright Laws and expects members of the university community to respect copyright. The University's commitment includes supporting the full exercise of the rights accorded to users of copyrighted works under the "Fair Use" provision of federal copyright law.

Embodied in Title 17 of the United States Code^[1], copyright law is intended to "... promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for a limited Time to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries."^[2] Copyright provides creators of "original works of authorship" with an exclusive set of rights to copy, reproduce, distribute, and perform their works. The law governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material, including the making of digital copies, e.g., by scanning, digitizing, or ripping.

The following best practices are provided to ensure a widespread understanding of copyright at Syracuse University:

1. Fair use is a longstanding doctrine, described in Section 107 of the Copyright Act, which recognizes the importance of accessing, using, and building upon copyrighted works in the context of teaching, research, and scholarship. The law establishes a zone of "fair use" protection for copying or disseminating copyrighted works without obtaining permission from the copyright owner under certain circumstances. The copyright statute provides a framework for deciding whether a particular use is a "fair use." The "fair use" analysis, whether in the paper or electronic environment, includes the following factors:

• the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

• the nature of the copyrighted work;

• the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

• the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

2. Making an electronic copy of a copyrighted work by any means (e.g., scanning, digitizing, ripping, etc.) is considered to be reproduction and is subject to copyright law, including the fair use doctrine.

3. The same copyright and fair use principles that apply to educational use of copyrighted works in print form also apply to such use in digital form. In general, if permission and possible payment of royalties would be required to include the material in a printed course pack, permission would also be required when making that material available in digital form. Permission may also be required for the use of copyrighted material as electronic course content even when such material is:

• available elsewhere on the internet;

• being used in a course for the first time, or;

• characterized for purposes of course use as optional, supplemental, or ancillary reading material, rather than as required, assigned, or recommended reading material.

4. Copyright infringement is a violation of university policy and can result in disciplinary action under the Code of Conduct^[3], the Academic Integrity Policy^[4], and the SU Computing and Electronic Communications Policy^[5].

5. No one should post digital course content consisting of copyrighted material without first either: